My Second Chance
by xMidnightVixenx
Summary: Amu is kidnapped by a group of scientists while she is on the verge of death. They save her, and put her in a house filled with people in the same situation as her. But one of the worst parts of it is - she has no memory of her past life before this.
1. A distant voice

_**~Prologue**_

_The voice was distant, like it was coming from far away. It said things I couldn't understand, in dark tones that could only be used for speaking of bad news. My thoughts were clouded and blurry, and there was only one thing I could concentrate on at that moment—Pain. A burning, awful pain. The voice began to talk again, still far-off and distant, but I realized I could understand what it said. I only heard a small bit, but I understood well enough. _

_ "You have a choice, Miss Hinamori. You can die—Or you can live."_

_ I heard someone cry out, and realized that the sound had come from me. I couldn't see, everything was dark, and all I could hear was the voice, repeating itself in my head— "You can die, or you can live." I felt cool hands pressing against my skin, on my forehead, my arms, and I vaguely heard other voices, their words undecipherable. _

_ Finally I started screaming, writhing in pain. I couldn't stand the pain anymore. I wanted to tell them yes, I want to live, but my tongue felt swollen and I couldn't manage anything more than indistinguishable screams and grunts as I dug my nails into anything I could reach. I didn't care that I was going to die, I just wanted the pain to end. _

_ I heard more voices, they seemed louder than before. I felt my mouth being pried open, and something was poured down my throat. It had no taste and I gulped the water down, almost choking on it, and started shouting hoarsely as loud as I could. "I want to live, please, please I don't want to die!" I started coughing violently, and I couldn't say more, but I knew they had heard me. Already I felt them lifting me up, carrying me to some other unknown destination, but all I could think was "Please stop please stop please stop please stop." _

_ Eventually they set me back down, on something hard—Like a table—And I felt them open my lips again. Thinking it was more water, I hastily drank the liquid they'd poured into my mouth, but it tasted sour and disgusting, and I gagged and tried to spit it back up. They forced it down, and finally the sickening substance was down my throat, though the taste remained in my mouth._

_ They lifted up my arm and I felt them jab something into my forearm, a needle or something, and the sudden pain caused me to bite my tongue hard enough to taste blood. I heard myself shouting all the curse words I knew, most of which would've earned me a slap on the mouth if I'd said them in different circumstances, but they were garbled from the blood in my mouth and my own near-deliriousness. _

_But I soon realized that the pain was dimming, the voices becoming more and more distant, and eventually I didn't feel anything at all anymore, just a dull numbness. I almost wanted to cry from the blissful lack of pain, and I started to feel just how tired I was. I decided that as long as the pain was gone, I didn't care if I was dead. I calmed down, willing my breathing to slow to a steady, even pace, and let the sleep overtake me._

* * *

I sat up, yawning, and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I felt groggy, and I had a slight headache. I started to stretch, but I froze, staring wide-eyed at my surroundings. I was in a white room, with no furnishings other than the bed I was laying on and a toilet, and it was completely unfamiliar. There was a camera watching me from the ceiling and I stared at it for a second, confused, before sliding my legs off the bed and standing up. My knees buckled underneath me and I fell, my arm shooting out to grab the edge of the bed, and I groaned before standing up shakily.

I glanced down and realized that I was wearing some sort of white dress. I was starting to freak out by now, my fists clenching in fear, but I told myself to stay calm. What had I been doing before I fell asleep? I tried to remember, but I blinked and realized that I didn't remember anything.

Not my name, where I lived, my family, not anything. Fear welled up in my chest and I took a deep breath, trying not to hyperventilate, and looked up at the camera. A small green light flashed repeatedly, signifying that it was on, and I cleared my throat and tried to talk. My voice cracked and it sounded terrible. My mouth was dry and dehydrated but the only water in the room was in the toilet.

I coughed and tried talking again. My voice still sounded weird but at least it didn't crack. I looked at the camera then hesitatingly said, "Um... Is anyone there?" I waited for a few seconds, in case the camera had a speaker or something, but nothing happened and I continued, "Where am I...? What's happening?" Once again there was no answer and I felt tears starting to well up in my eyes as I sank to my knees. My headache had worsened since I'd first woken up and it had gone from a dull throb to a shooting pain, my mouth felt sticky and sour and I had no idea where I was or even who I was.

Just as I was about to start sobbing I heard a beeping sound and a click and a section of the wall slid open, revealing a woman in a white lab coat. She walked into the room, the wall sliding closed behind her, and she looked down at me on the floor, her face expressionless. I stumbled to my feet and blurted out,

"Where am I? Why can't I remember anything? Who are you? Why is there a camera? What's going on?"

The woman rolled her eyes at me. "You're in a laboratory. Your questions will be answered later, for now I just need to test you." She looked down at the clipboard in her hand.

"Test me...? What is that supposed to mean? I just want to know what's going on..." More tears streamed down my face even though I tried to keep them from coming, and I wiped them away quickly.

She continued to look at her clipboard for a minute or two before finally looking up at me. "It's not my job to explain things to you. Now, first I need to check your height and weight." She pulled a tape measure from one of her pockets, instructing me to stand up straight, and I stared at her blankly before slowly standing straight as she measured my height, writing down the results on her clipboard.

She then walked over to one of the walls and a small section slid open, and she pulled a digital scale out from the wall and set it down in front of me. I gave her a deadpanned look and she raised an eyebrow at me. Frowning I stood on the scale and she wrote down the number that appeared, taking the scale and putting it back in the wall. She had me do several other tedious things that seemed unnecessary to me, and when she was finally done I was trying my best not to start screaming in frustration.

The woman scanned through the notes she'd made, and when she looked back up she frowned. "Hmm... No changes." She straightened up and glanced at me. "I'll be back in an hour or two. You might as well sleep, I suppose." She turned away and left, the wall sliding open and closed once again. I scowled, glaring at the section of wall that opened, and after a few seconds sighed and sat down on the bed. Pulling my legs up, I rested my head of my knees and frowned at the wall, until finally I groaned and laid down, closing my eyes until I eventually fell into a restless sleep.

When I woke up again, I felt like I'd been sleeping for hours. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, looking around. Everything was exactly the same as it'd been before I went to sleep. Had it been two hours yet? Maybe the woman had come and gone while I slept. Grumbling to myself I laid back down and stared at the ceiling blankly.

Since there was nothing to do in the room, all I had left to do was sleep, but I wasn't sure that was possible. I felt like I'd slept for much too long, and I wasn't tired at all. My headache had also come back, and it was hurting more than ever. My throat burned and my eyes stung, basically I felt like crap.

I heard a beep, like the one from earlier, and I looked up hopefully at the wall. Sure enough, it slid open and the same woman from before walked in, looking through her clipboard again. She didn't bother to look at me as she said, "Come on. The others will want to meet you."

I stood up, yawning involuntarily, and asked questioningly, "The others...?"

She nodded and looked up at me, then frowned. "You're a mess. Well, whatever, I doubt anyone will care."

"Well, it's not like you gave me any other clothes, or a brush, or even water," I said accusingly.

She either didn't hear me or didn't care enough to answer, and she turned around, motioning for me to follow. The door from my room opened into a long, white hallway. I saw other doors like mine on the walls, and I noticed they were a lot easier to see from this side than from inside the rooms. "So, you said we're in a laboratory, right? What's it researching? How people react when they're kidnapped and not given any food or water?" I asked, jogging forward until I was walking next to her.

"No." She sighed, and then said, "Fine, do you really want to know? You should be dead right now."

I frowned. "Um... What does that mean?"

"You were dying when we found you. If we had come just a few minutes later you probably would've died. But we saved you. That what this place is for—Saving peoples' lives."

I went silent for a moment, then said, "So... I have amnesia? From almost dying?"

She shook her head. "No, we erased your memory. It would interfere with what we had to do to save you."

"What..? What did you have to do?"


	2. Ikuto

**Thanks so much to "It's a Christine" for beta-ing this chapter for me! ^_^**

**~Chapter Two: Ikuto**

_ "You were dying when we found you. If we had come just a few minutes later you probably would've died. But we saved you. That what this place is for—Saving peoples' lives." _

_ I went silent for a moment, then said, "So... I have amnesia? From almost dying?" _

_ She shook her head. "No, we erased your memory. It would interfere with what we had to do to save you."_

_ "What..? What did you have to do?" _

"You'll find out soon enough."

I was pretty sure she wouldn't say anything more, so instead of questioning her I looked around at the room we were passing through. It was big, with a huge ceiling that I couldn't even see the top of. There were no people, but there were several long tables, and a counter with a kitchen behind it, so I figured it was some sort of cafeteria or something. There were stairs on one side of the room and on the other side was a set of double-doors, which the woman was heading towards. As I followed her, I started to think about what she'd said, and finally I asked, "How did I almost die?"

She looked down at her clipboard, her eyes scanning its contents. "Honestly, I'm not sure you want the details. Your case was particularly gruesome. Let's just say that somehow, you got involved in some dangerous business—Gangs and the like—And, well, you must have done something wrong, because they wanted you dead." I shuddered involuntarily, imagining all the different things 'gruesome' could mean.

She pushed open the double-doors, and what greeted me on the other side surprised me. The doors lead out of the laboratory, into some kind of garden. The grass was green and looked well-cared for, and flowers dotted the ground. The sudden bursts of color made my headache, which I had all but forgotten about, flare back up again after having only seen white for so long. She kept walking forward, apparently not following a particular path, and eventually we came up to a large yellow building, which had been partially hidden by trees.

There were several people around, but none of them were close enough for me to get a good look at. Suddenly I had a sick feeling in my stomach as my fear and confusion resurfaced, but the woman continued on into the building, and I hesitatingly followed. There were more people inside the big room, which was colorful but not so bright that it hurt my eyes. There were several things to lounge around on, like bean bags and couches, and I figured this place was some sort of lobby or loft. But I wasn't sure why only teenagers seemed to be here, or why I had been brought here in the first place.

My train of thought was broken when I heard a scream. Startled, I looked at the edge of the room, where the cry had come from. Some sort of wolf was viciously attacking a young girl, clawing and biting her. I blinked, shocked to see a wolf inside of this place, and looked around to see if anyone was going to help her. No one seemed to care, though, and the few that were watching just looked bored rather than scared. The girl screamed again as she tried to get up and run, but the wolf dove at her leg, snarling loudly, and the girl shrieked and tripped, blood pooling beneath her leg. I turned to the woman, but she wasn't paying attention as she scanned the rest of the room.

"H-hey... Why isn't anyone helping her?" I asked, looking over. The wolf was snarling as it circled the girl, waiting for her to get up. She looked over at where I had pointed for a second then sighed, a look of annoyance passing over her face. She shook her head and walked over to the fight, shouting something at the wolf, and its ears laid back flat on its head as it bared its teeth at her. For a second I thought it might attack her too, but it just growled before backing away, then circled around her to the front doors and left.

The woman walked back to me. "There. Happy? Come on, I need to find you a leader."

"But... What about that girl..?" I asked. She was clutching at her leg, tears streaming down her face, and a few people had gathered around her now that the wolf was gone.

"What, her? That was nothing. She'll be fine. Come on." She started walking again, and with one last uneasy glance at the girl I followed.

She lead me across the big room to a girl sitting in the corner, reading. The girl looked up as we approached, and an annoyed look appeared on her face. "Please don't tell me you want me to babysit her."

The woman shook her head. "No, not you. I'm looking for Ikuto."

The girl sighed. "I think he's on the roof right now."

The woman nodded. "Thanks." She turned around and walked out of the building, and I jogged to catch up to her. She walked around to the other side, where there were some stairs, and started to climb them.

"Wait, who's Ikuto?" I asked, confused. I was getting sick of her not telling me anything.

"He's going to be your... Guide, I suppose, until you get the hang of things. Which means that you will probably be joining his pack."

"Umm... Okay..." I mumbled. I still wanted to know more but she was never clear when she spoke to me and I didn't feel like trying anymore.

The stairs were slippery and I almost fell multiple times. I was amazed at how fast she was able to climb them without even stumbling. As I looked out absently at the trees, my thoughts drifted back to that wolf. Apparently that sort of thing was considered normal. How was that even possible? That girl had been screaming and bleeding, but no one had cared. If this was the sort of place I was going to have to be around, I wasn't sure I'd last very long.

When we reached the top, she strode across the roof over to a small section that was hidden from view when standing at the top of the stairs. A boy who looked like he was about 16 or 17 was laying there lazily, his eyes closed. The way he was lounging around somehow reminded me of a cat.

"Good, he's here. I have some things to take care of, so why don't you go talk to him? Tell him Sanjo sent you." Without waiting for my response, she turned around and went back down the stairs, leaving me to try to make friends. I scowled and looked back at the boy, then trudged over to him. He cracked one eyelid open as I approached, and a scowl appeared on his face.

"Um... Hi." I fidgeted with my hands, hoping that he would be nice.

"What do you want?" he said grouchily, glaring at me. I groaned inwardly. Obviously we were not going to get along.


	3. Rejected

**~Chapter Three: Rejected**

"Uh... Sanjo sent me." I shifted my feet awkwardly, not sure what to do. The boy let out a strange sort of growl, that sounded like an animals', and I blinked, wondering if my ears were tricking me.

"That little..." he muttered, then glared at me, a look of annoyance on his face. "Well, sucks for her. I'm not helping out some stupid newbie." He then turned so he was facing the other way, not saying anything else.

I stood there for a while, feeling completely out of place. Honestly, I was sort of grateful that I couldn't remember anything—I probably would've been freaking out from worry if I still had my memories, but since they were mostly blank I didn't have much of a reason to, besides being pretty much confused out of my mind and feeling like an idiot.

He didn't seem like he was going to say more, so finally I gave up and turned back to the stairs. After slipping twice, I made it to the bottom, and for a second I considered running away. The woman had said she'd taken my memories, but maybe they would come back after a while? I shook my head. It wasn't like I had anywhere to go, and it was already getting dark. What if there were more wolves? Sighing, I headed around to the front doors of the building in hopes that the woman—Sanjo?—would be there. But when I walked in I noticed that there were a lot less people than before. I counted about six, and none of them were Sanjo.

The girl that had been reading a book wasn't there anymore either, and I hadn't met anyone else.

I felt so lost. I had no idea what to do or where to go. I looked around uneasily, hoping someone would tell me what to do, and I let out a sigh of relief when a girl about the same age as the boy walked up to me. "Are you all right?" the girl asked. She was tall and slim, and her blonde hair was long and straight. Her violet eyes looked sympathetic, like she knew how confused I felt.

"Umm... No," I said, unsure of what to say.

"Are you new? Who brought you here?"

"I think she said her name was Sanjo," I said, tugging at my sleeves awkwardly.

She nodded. "Oh, Sanjo-san. Did she assign you to someone yet? Where'd she go?"

"Uh, she told me to talk to Ikuto, who's on the roof, and she left because she had stuff to do..."

The girl made a face. "Why in the world would she assign you to Ikuto? He's not exactly a social person. Ugh, whatever. I guess if she assigned you to him, you're going to be joining our pack, right? Come on, let's go to our den." She headed outside of the building and I followed her, finally feeling hopeful for the first time since waking up in this weird laboratory.

* * *

We walked through the trees for what felt like forever. After all this walking I was getting really tired of it. At one point the girl said, "Oh, yeah. My name's Utau, in case you're wondering." She didn't ask for my name, thankfully.

The trees seemed to thicken the further away we walked, and by now it was really dark. I was starting to get a little worried about wolves and getting lost when I saw lights shining in the distance. As we walked closer, I saw that the lights were coming from a medium-sized, two-story house. It was painted white, but it was a lot more of a soft color than the laboratory had been earlier. It looked homey and almost all the lights were on. Utau opened the front door and motioned for me to come inside, then closed the door behind us.

The first room inside the house was big and had couches and chairs as well as a TV in the corner, which was on and playing a cartoon. There weren't any pictures hanging on the walls, but there were a few drawings that had been drawn directly onto the walls with marker or pen. The coffee table in the middle of the room was covered in random junk like books, papers, pens, food, dishes, cups, and food wrappers, but other than that the room was nearly spotless.

There was an older boy stretched out on one of the couches, his arm covering his face, probably asleep, and Utau walked up to him and pushed him off the couch. He groaned, propping himself up with his elbow, and glared at Utau. "What do you want? I'm trying to _sleep_," he said groggily.

"We've got a new member, Kukai," Utau said, and he yawned and stood up, then finally seemed to notice me. The tired look disappeared from his face and he brushed his disheveled light brown hair out of his eyes, giving me a white-toothed smile.

He walked closer and took my hand, kissing it lightly. "It's _very _nice to meet you. My name is Kukai." I blushed, embarrassed and mildly confused.

Utau rolled her eyes and pulled my hand away for me. "Kukai, she's like, fifteen. Cut it out."

"Age has nothing to do with love," he pointed out, grinning.

"Oh, shut up, idiot. Leave her alone, at _least _until she gets settled in. Do you know where Yoru is?"

"Nope, I've kind of been busy. You know, sleeping. But he's probably in his room, getting down with Miki." As he said this he flopped back down on the couch, watching the cartoon on TV.

"You are so disgusting," Utau said irritatedly.

"Hey, it's probably true." He shrugged, smiling.

"You act like a twelve year old boy." She made a face at him and started walking away, further into the house. "Come on," she called to me. I glanced back at Kukai for a second, and he grinned at me, winking. I blushed again and hurried to catch up with Utau.

We walked up the stairs in the corner and down a fairly long hall until Utau stopped in front of the door at the end. She knocked on the door, and after a few seconds, it swung open. The man who was standing in the doorway looked like he was in his early twenties, with spikey blue hair and a sleepy look on his face. "What is it, Utau?" he asked.

"Yoru, we got a new pack member," she said. "I don't really know what to do with her, and the lab is probably closed by now."

Yoru took a closer look at me, and I fidgeted with my sleeves. "Hm. What's her name?"

"I don't know." Utau turned to me, and I shrugged. "I don't think they told her yet. They assigned her to Ikuto, but he probably told her to go away."

A woman walked forward and came to stand partly behind Yoru, wrapping her arm around his waist. "We've got a new member? Oh, she's so cute!" she said, smiling. She had straight, blue hair a couple shades lighter than Yoru's that came down a few inches below her collarbone, and her eyes were almost the same color as her hair. Her lips were light pink and stood out against her pale skin, and she had long, dark eyelashes. I was pretty sure she was in her twenties, too. She didn't even look like she was wearing any make up, and I couldn't help but think she was really beautiful. Absently I started to wonder what I looked like. I realized that I had never even seen my face, and the thought kind of weirded me out.

Yoru sighed. "Well, if she's joining our pack, she'll need a room." He walked out into the hallway, and stopped in front of the room two doors down from his. He knocked, and when no one answered opened the door. The room was simple, with plain cream-colored furnishings. There was a bed and a desk, and a closet in the corner.

"Well, I guess we'll leave you to get settled in. When you feel like it, you can come down and find someone in the front room. You probably have a lot of questions, right? Unfortunately, we won't be able to answer all of them until we get your file, which we won't be able to get until tomorrow. But the ones we do know I'm sure whoever you ask will be happy to answer." I nodded and Yoru handed me a key, then walked back to his room with his girlfriend.

"I'm gonna go, so see ya, okay? If you need something my room is across from yours," Utau said, and she took off in the other direction of the hall.

I walked into my new room, shutting the door behind me, and looked around. It was plain, but I liked it, especially for the fact that it had windows and a door, as well as more than just a bed. But I wished someone had given me new clothes, or food, or pointed me in the direction of a kitchen or bathroom so I could get some water. After standing in the room for a minute or two I sighed and put the key on the desk before turning around and venturing back out into the hallway.

I knocked on Utau's door, and when she didn't answer I went back downstairs. Kukai was stretched out on the couch, still watching TV, and I grimaced before walking over to him.

He looked over at me, a smile brightening his face when he saw who it was. "Hey, you came back! You just couldn't resist, huh? Well, if you want me that bad, we can go to my room if you want." I stared at him, wide-eyed, until he finally started laughing. "Nah, you're probably pretty tired. Tomorrow then. So what did you come here for?"

I blushed and stuttered out, "I-I want to know what's going on..."

"Hmm, well, you should probably go ask someone else then. I'm not good at explaining that kind of stuff. I think Utau's in the kitchen, through that door." He pointed at the door behind me then winked. "Don't forget about tomorrow though."

I blushed madly and spun around, leaving as fast as I could. Utau was in the kitchen, standing behind the counter with a plateful of food, and she looked up when I shut the door. She made a face when she saw me. "Did Kukai bother you again? That little... I'm sorry, he's just sort of weird. He doesn't really mean it. I think." She frowned then said, "So, you want to ask some questions now, right? Here, you're probably hungry." She put the plate down on the table in the middle of the kitchen and motioned for me to sit down, then she grabbed a cup from a cupboard and filled it with water, setting it down next to the plate. "There."

I sat down and after a hesitant bite, I ate ravenously, like I had never eaten anything in my life. Which, I guess, I sort of hadn't. I tried not to be messy, but I was too hungry to care, and when I drank the water I gulped it down so fast I almost choked on it. When I was finally done, Utau sat across from me on the table and asked, "So, what do you want to know first?"

I frowned and thought about it for a few seconds. What did I want to know first? I wanted to know who I was, who Utau was, where I was at, why I was here, why my memory was gone, what Sanjo had meant when she said she did something to me, and about a million other things. But finally I asked, "Where are we?"

"Where are we? On the grounds of a science laboratory. It specializes in genetic mutation, among other things."

I blinked. "Genetic mutation?"

"Yeah. That's why we're all here—We're test subjects." She sighed.

"What... Then, did they mutate my DNA or something?"

"Well... Sort of. While you were sleeping they changed your DNA, and fused it with an animal's."


	4. Sickening Truth

_**~Chapter 4: Sickening Truth**_

_ I blinked. "Genetic mutation?"_

_ "Yeah. That's why we're all here—We're test subjects." She sighed._

_ "What... Then, did they mutate my DNA or something?"_

_ "Well... Sort of. While you were sleeping they changed your DNA, and fused it with an animal's." _

I frowned—I did _not _like where this was going. "...What is that supposed to mean?"

"Basically, you're half animal now."

I went silent. Was she lying? That made no sense. I didn't feel like an animal, and no one else I'd seen so far looked like an animal... I frowned. What about the wolf? Did that mean that wolf was actually a person? I closed my eyes, my hair falling into my face, and took a deep breath, then looked back up at Utau. She gave me a sympathetic look. "I know. It's insane. I don't understand it all the way either." She looked away for a second, scanning the room like she was looking for something, then turned back to me. "If you want some proof, come with me. Although... It might freak you out a little."

I laughed sarcastically. "I don't think I can get much more freaked out than this."

She shrugged and stood up, walking through a door opposite the one I had came in from. It opened up to a bathroom, and she gestured at the mirror. "See for yourself."

I frowned and hesitantly walked into the bathroom. There was a mirror above the sink, and I could finally see my reflection. I had long, strawberry colored hair that was wavy and long side bangs that were pushed back behind my ear. I was a little startled to see that I had different colored eyes, one honey-gold and one blue, but I didn't see how that would have anything to do with having animal DNA. My face was pale just like the rest of my body and I figured I was sort of pretty, or at least that I could look worse, and I guessed that I was probably 15 or 16. For the most part I looked pretty normal though and, confused, I turned back to Utau. "Look at your teeth," she said.

I knit my brow and turned to the mirror again, opening my mouth, and I almost screamed. Hidden behind my lips were four fangs, two on the bottom and two on the top. They were short enough that you couldn't see them if my mouth was closed, but they looked sharp and deadly. I quickly shut my mouth, a look of horror evident on my face.

Utau tugged my arm and led me back into the kitchen, and I sat back down in my seat. I asked, "What the hell... Are these?" I reached up and touched the tip of one of my fangs with my finger, and I flinched and pulled it away.

She smiled sadly at me. "Yeah, I know. It's really creepy. For the first week or so, the DNA is kind of unstable, and you'll be constantly switching between human features and animal features. You might wake up tomorrow and have a tail, or claws, or whatever. I'm not sure which animal you were fused with though."

"I..." I didn't know what to say. After thinking for a few seconds I asked, "Why did they do this?"

She sighed. "Well, that's the tricky part. It's horrible that they did this to us, but the thing is, technically they did ask our permission. They don't go around kidnapping people—The people that they choose to experiment on are the ones who are within minutes of death. It doesn't matter what from. They have people watching, looking for people who get in accidents or whatever, and if they think the experiments will work on them they take them to their lab and give them a choice. They ask if they want to die, or if they want to live, and if they say they want to live, they start working on them right away. I'm not entirely sure how, but when they mix your DNA with an animal's, it heals you from almost anything. I think they might do other things to you besides just mess with your DNA, but they've never said what."

I stared at her, and she shrugged. "That's just what I know. But hey, it could be worse. They separate us in to 'packs' and basically let us do whatever we want, except when we do jobs for them. I guess it's not so bad. They took our memory of our past lives away too, so we don't have to worry as much about what happened before, I guess. It doesn't really work very well, but at least they're trying. The alternative would be death, so."

I nodded. It did _sort _of make sense. Utau glanced at the clock, which said it was 10 pm. "It's getting late. Tomorrow we can go get your file, find out what your name is and all that stuff, and get you some other clothes, then we'll introduce you to the rest of the pack. Ours is the smallest, with only about 7 people I think, so don't worry about being shy or anything. We're all pretty nice here. Today was just sort of hectic..." She trailed off, seemingly lost in thought, and I frowned.

"Well... Good night, I guess," I said, standing to leave. She looked back up at me and nodded, smiling tiredly.

"Good night. Oh, yeah, there's a bathroom in the room to the left of mine. First door on the left, when you first walk into the hall. Just in case you need to use it during the night, or you can shower or whatever—I don't care." I nodded and smiled faintly at her, then walked back to my room. Kukai was gone, and the TV was turned off, as well as most of the lights in the house. Sighing, I opened the door to my room and closed it behind me, collapsing onto my bed. Hesitantly I felt my fangs with my tongue, wincing when I almost hurt myself, and I curled up under the covers. I was really tired by now, and within minutes I had fallen asleep.

* * *

When I woke up, light was streaming in through the curtains and shining on my face. Squinting, I raised my arm over my head in an attempt to block out the light, and I listened to the sounds coming from downstairs. Apparently the people who lived here weren't very quiet.

I yawned and pushed my blankets off me, dragging myself to my feet. Groggily I pushed open my door and walked over to the bathroom, knocking briefly before turning the knob and walking in. I closed the door and locked it, then turned to stand in front of the mirror, examining my reflection. My hair was messy and needed to be brushed, and I looked tired, but I didn't see any changes like ears or a tail. Opening my mouth, I saw that the fangs were still there, but at least nothing else had appeared. Sighing, I combed through my tangled hair with my fingers as best as I could, then I splashed my face with some cold water and left.

I had butterflies in my stomach as I walked down the stairs. What if Utau wasn't there? I didn't know anyone else very well besides her, and I was worried that no one would bother to talk to me. But as soon as I walked off the bottom stair, an older boy with glasses noticed me. "Hey, it's the new girl!" He walked over to me and smiled. "Hi! My name's Kairi."

"Oh, um, hi." I smiled back, and he pulled me by my arm to one of the couches in the middle of the room, where a girl was curled up reading a book.

"Hey, Rima, look! I think she's about your age. I bet you guys will get along great." The girl looked up at me. She was tiny, and she had waist-length blonde hair and hazel eyes. I would guess that she was 12 or 13, not 'my age.'

She smiled faintly. "Um... Hi," she said quietly. Her voice was high-pitched and shy, and I couldn't help but find her adorable.

"Hey, where's Utau?" Kairi asked Kukai, who was sitting on a recliner chair across the room, watching TV. Kukai opened his mouth to answer but the front door opened and Utau walked in, holding a few sheets of paper.

"Oh, you're up!" she said, smiling at me. "I got the papers—Sorry it took so long. I didn't read them though, just in case there's anything... Private." She handed them to me and I looked through them. A few things they had listed were:

_Name: Amulet_

_Age: 16 years_

_Date of Birth: September 24_

_Animal DNA: _Panthera tigris tigris_ – Bengal Tiger_

_Date Missing: April 12_

There were several other things listed, like my weight and other unimportant things, and notes that I assumed had been made by the scientist Sanjo-san, but I barely payed attention to them. After I skimmed through the rest of the papers, I handed them back to Utau. "I don't think there's anything I wouldn't want you to know on there." She nodded and looked through them too.

"Huh. A tiger? That's pretty cool. They fused me with a fox—Nothing too special." She smiled at me, and I could tell she was trying to make me feel better, but I felt sick to my stomach. I had the DNA of a bloodthirsty predator? Trying to think optimistically, I figured that it _was _pretty cool. Tigers were sort of cute, right? Besides the teeth, and the claws, and the roars... I sighed.

"What does the date missing part mean?" I asked.

"Well... It's the date that you were officially reported 'missing' by the officials investigating your disappearance—When the scientists found you." I nodded, keeping a straight face, but wished I hadn't asked. I didn't want to think about that.

Kukai hopped off his seat and grabbed the papers from Utau, which earned him an indignant "Hey!" He scanned the contents of the pages then looked up at me, frowning. "Hmm... Your name's Amulet..? That's sort of a strange name, don't you think? How about we call you... hm..."

"What about Amu?" Kairi suggested offhandedly.

"I like the name Amulet," Reina said, frowning. Kairi shrugged, and Kukai tilted his head, the action reminding me vaguely of a dog's.

"Oh, who cares. Amu it is!" He grinned at me. "I think it suits you."

"Hey, she should get to choose herself. What do you think?" she asked me, and I shrugged.

"I don't really care. Amu's fine." I forced a smile, even though my stomach was still churning with disgust at myself.

"I think it's cute," Rima commented, and Kukai nodded in agreement.

"Good, so it's settled. Utau, you go tell Yoru," he said dismissively as he flopped back down on his recliner chair. Utau made a face at Kukai and I noticed that the way to two treated each other largely resembled the behavior of two little kids who had a crush on each other. I smirked at the thought and glanced at Rima, who smiled back knowingly.

"You are so _lazy. _Why don't you go do it yourself? I got assigned a mission anyways, so I can't even if I wanted to. Which reminds me, I need someone to look after—Uh, Amu. She could really use a trip to the Loft." Utau looked around, waiting for someone to offer.

"Um..." Rima glanced at Kairi and Kukai, who were both avoiding eye-contact with Utau. Did they really not want to help me out that much? Rima sighed and closed her book. "I guess I can..."

I noticed someone coming down the stairs and I turned to look. With a start I realized that it was the boy I had seen on the roof before, Ikuto. Now that I could see him in the light, I noticed that he had... Ears. Cat ears. Cat ears on the top of his head, which twitched and moved, proving that they were real, and partly blended in with his hair. He ignored us, walking right past us to the kitchen, but Utau called out, "Oi, Ikuto! Perfect timing! I need you to show the new girl around today. Her name's Amu."

He turned to look at her, frowning. "What? Why should I? Have someone else do it." He yawned lazily and turned back to the kitchen door, but Utau pulled on his arm.

"No, they're busy. You're gonna get fat if you keep sitting around all day, Ikuto. You need to get off your lazy ass and help out for once," she argued forcefully.

Ikuto turned around and made an animalistic growling sound, like the one he'd made before when I first met him. This time it didn't sound quite so strange, but it still looked and sounded weird for a human to make a sound like that. He scowled at Utau, and Rima frowned.

"I can take her to the Loft, it's no big deal..." she said quietly, but Utau shook her head.

"No, Ikuto should do it. He never does anything, and anyway, Sanjo-san assigned her to _him._" She seemed dead-set on making Ikuto take me, and Rima kept quiet, though she was still frowning. She looked at me and mouthed, '_That's how she always is.' _I nodded—I could tell.

Ikuto's cat ears were laid back flat on his head and I thought he was going to argue more, but finally he said, "Fine. Whatever." He turned on his heel and stalked out the front door, and when I didn't immediately follow called out, "Are you coming or not?" I glanced at Rima and she nodded enthusiastically, and hesitantly I followed after him.

He walked ahead of me, not slowing down for me to catch up, and he didn't talk. A few minutes later when we got to the big yellow building, he walked straight inside without bothering to check if I was still following. I really wished Rima or someone else had taken me instead, but it was too late now, and I headed inside.


	5. Emerald Dreams

**~Chapter Five: Emerald Dreams**

It was pretty much the same as yesterday, minus the little girl getting attacked by a wolf. There were a few people hanging out and talking, and basically just doing whatever. I noticed the girl I'd met the day before, the one who had been reading a book in the corner, was sitting on the bottom stair of the huge staircase that lead to the second floor, and she was reading a book again. She looked bored, and I wondered what her name was. But Ikuto was already heading into another room, and I hurried to catch up before I lost sight of him.

The room he'd gone into was big, though not as big as the other one, and had several shelves of random things—Toys, clothes, food, candy, all sorts of stuff. It looked a little like a store, sort of. A girl was leaning behind a counter near the front, looking bored. I turned to look at Ikuto, who was next to me, leaning against the wall and asked, "Uh... What am I supposed to do?"

He replied in a bored tone, "I dunno, buy clothes or whatever. I don't care, just not too much, it's not like I'm loaded or anything."

I frowned. He had to pay money? I walked through the aisles, picking out a few outfits that I liked as well as other stuff that I thought I would need like a toothbrush and hairbrush, and when I was done I walked back to Ikuto. He pushed off the wall and walked over to stand in front of the girl at the counter, and I handed my stuff to her. She rang it up, just like you would in a normal store, and Ikuto handed her a small, colorful card which she slid through a machine then handed back to him, along with my stuff which she had put in a bag. Ikuto gave the bag to me and left, and I hurried to keep up with him.

He walked quickly out of the building then started to slow down once we had gotten outside. He didn't look at me, and after a while I asked, "Uh... Where are we going?"

He shrugged. "If you wanna go back to the den, go ahead. I'm not making you go anywhere." I frowned. Maybe he wasn't making me, but it wasn't like I knew how to get back by myself. But I didn't really care—I was sort of curious about where he was going to go.

He kept walking through the thickening trees and I started to wonder if he was just walking for the fun of it, not with an actual destination in mind. But after a few minutes, I noticed the trees starting to thin and we walked into a clearing, where a big hill sloped up in the middle. We walked up to the top and finally Ikuto stopped walking, instead sitting down next to a tree and leaning back against it. I sat next to him and when he didn't object I leaned back against the tree too.

After a few minutes of silence I worked up the courage to ask him about his ears. "So... Uh... Why do you have cat ears? I thought Utau said the weird animal things go away after a while..."

Ikuto shrugged. "I don't know why, they just never went away. Same with my tail."

"Your... tail?" Surprised, I looked down and sure enough, he had a long, dark blue tail swishing in the air behind him. How had I not noticed it before? "Wow... that's, um...creepy, to be honest."

"You're telling me," he muttered darkly, and I frowned.

"What, you don't like it?"

"You kidding? I hate it. It's sick. People shouldn't be mixed with animals, it's just weird—And they don't even bother to ask first." He scowled, still not looking directly at me, and I started to wish I hadn't brought it up. Apparently it was a sore subject with him.

He started to yawn widely, and I noticed that he had four fangs in his mouth too, though his were much shorter and skinnier than mine. Fear started to well up in my chest—What if mine never went away, either? What if I woke up with a tail and ears and I had to live with them for forever? I took a deep breath and pushed the thought from my mind. I didn't even want to imagine that.

Suddenly Ikuto started to talk. "Hey... I'm, uh... Sorry about yesterday. On the roof."

Startled, I looked over at him. "You're... What? Oh. Uh. It's okay."

He ran his fingers through his hair and said awkwardly, "Alright. So... Your name's Amu?"

I frowned. Was he trying to make a conversation with me? "Yeah... So, your name's Ikuto?" I tried to keep the teasing tone out of my voice, but it didn't work.

He scowled at me. "Well, sorry for trying to be nice. I just won't talk to you then."

"No, I'm sorry! Come on, keep talking. Umm... So what's it like, living here?"

He was silent for a few seconds, and I thought he wasn't going to answer, then he said, "I dunno. I don't really like it, but it could be worse."

"Huh? How come?"

We continued to talk for what felt like hours, and possibly was. He told me about the Loft, our pack, and about the laboratory and the scientists, though I could tell that his views were a little biased. But by the time we got up to go back, I felt sort of...close to him. I wasn't sure if he would agree, but I felt like we were at least friends now.

When we got back, everyone was curious as to where we had gone all day, but Ikuto wouldn't say. Kukai accused us of hooking up, and I could feel my face heat up, but Ikuto didn't even react—He just said bye to me and headed up the stairs to his room.

Since everyone but Utau and Grey was there, they introduced me to the rest of the pack—The woman I'd met the day before was named Miki, and she was dating Yoru, who was the leader of the pack. There was also Kairi, Kukai, and Rima, all of whom I had already met. After being introduced to everyone, I stayed downstairs with them for a while, listening to them joke and talk together with Rima reading a book next to me. I had only been here for about a day, but I already felt at home, and I couldn't help but feel lucky that I was put in this pack. I didn't know what the other ones were like, but I didn't think they could be nearly as fun-loving and casual as this one seemed to be.

When I went upstairs to go to sleep, I put down my bag from the store on the desk and pulled out the pajamas I had bought, changing into them before heading into the bathroom to quickly brush my teeth. I felt like I should probably take a shower too, but I was tired and decided I'd do it in the morning.

When I finally was in my bed, I stared up at the ceiling for a while, thinking about everything that had happened. I didn't like that I had been experimented on against my will, or that my memories had been stolen from me, but I liked it here. Smiling, I turned on my side and closed my eyes, quickly falling into a dreamless sleep.

A few days went by and nothing had changed, for the most part. I woke up in the morning, hung out with the rest of the pack, took walks, went to the Loft sometimes. It was interesting, living here—Better than I had first thought it would be. I saw all sorts of strange things whenever I went to the Loft; tails, wings, ears, you name it. Eventually I got used to it, though the sharp teeth thing still didn't set right with me.

When I walked downstairs about a week since I'd first gotten here, the house was practically empty. Ikuto was sleeping on one of the couches and Rima was eating breakfast in the kitchen. I sat down at the table a few seats away from her, wondering if I had woken up early.

"Where is everyone?" I asked sleepily, yawning. My fangs still hadn't gone and I was starting to think they really might never go away. I got a sick feeling in my stomach whenever I thought about them, but I had decided that if they really were going to stay forever, I would need to get used to them.

"I don't really know... Everyone just took off an hour ago, and they said they'd probably be back sometime tonight. Miki and Ikuto are still here though."

"Oh... so Utau went with them?" I had been looking forward to talking to her more, since she was the easiest person to talk to about the scientists and everything.

Rima frowned. "No, actually she didn't come back yesterday after leaving to do another job. But it's not a big deal, some of the missions they send us on take days to finish."

I was about to ask what exactly a 'job' was, but my stomach started to growl loudly, and Rima laughed. "If you're hungry, you can get something from the pantry."

I got myself some cereal, finishing off about four or five bowls before I felt full. I hadn't realized I was that hungry, but once I'd started eating my hunger seemed to grow somehow—The others said it was a side-affect of having animal DNA, or something like that.

Rima yawned and stood up. "I think I'm going to go back to sleep. See ya, Amu," she said brightly as she walked out the kitchen door, leaving me alone.

I sighed and walked into the front room. Ikuto was still sleeping, his cat tail swishing in the air and his cat ears twitching. I couldn't help but think it was cute, and I blushed slightly, scolding myself. Ikuto was _not _cute. More like the opposite. Ikuto and I had sort of gotten more close since I'd first come here, but I couldn't think of us as anything other than friends. He didn't really seem like my 'type'—But then, how would I know? It wasn't like I had previous boyfriends to compare him to, or at least any that I could remember. Still, I didn't really think I liked him that way, and it was weird to think of him as cute.

Ikuto started to stretch and he sat up, noticing me almost instantly. "What, were you watching me sleep?" he asked in an uncaring voice, and I blushed, frowning at him. "No, who would? You're just a stupid cat," I retorted. I had tried to come up with a good insult but I couldn't really think of anything, just called out the first thing I'd thought of. It seemed to bother him though, and he growled at me, his tail bristling up. He didn't come off as intimidating, and I started laughing, which caused him to get even more mad.

He jumped up and started to stalk off up the stairs, and I called out, "Hey, wait! Sorry... I didn't mean to make you mad. Um... Actually I was wondering if we could go to that one place again. With the hill." He stopped walking and turned around, a confused look on his face. "What for?"

I shrugged, starting to feel embarrassed. "I don't know... nevermind. Forget I asked," I sighed, grabbing the remote and sitting down to watch TV. I heard him walk back upstairs, and I curled up on the couch, half-watching the cartoon that was on.

A few minutes later I heard him come back down, and I sat up, looking over at the stairs. He had changed into jeans and a T-shirt and put shoes on, and was walking to the front door. "Hey, where're you going?" I asked, confused.

He opened the door and called over his shoulder, "You coming?" I sat unmoving for a few seconds then smiled happily as I got up to go with him.

When we got to the clearing with the hill and climbed to the top, I sat down in the same place I had yesterday, and Ikuto did the same. We sat in silence for a while as I stared down at the forest. The hill was huge, and I could see almost the entire forest from here—I could see the top of the Loft among the trees, and a few smaller houses dotted around, none of them very close to each other.

Eventually I noticed Ikuto was staring at me, and I raised an eyebrow at him. He quickly turned away, but I was sure I caught a slight blush on his cheeks before his hair fell over his face.

After a while, I leaned back more against the tree and closed my eyes. It was so quiet here, and I really liked it. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.


	6. Trouble

**Gahh. I typed 'Gray' instead of Ikuto in chapter five. This is what happens when you watch Fairy Tail and Shugo Chara x_x**

**~Chapter Six: Trouble**

When I woke up again, the sun had already started to set. I shot up, leaves falling out of my hair, and looked around, wide-eyed. When I remembered where I was, I relaxed and let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Rubbing my eyes, I looked over my shoulder to see that Ikuto had fallen asleep too, in the spot under my head—I'd been apparently using his chest as a pillow. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep on him...

He sat up a little bit after me, looking around sleepily, his tail flicking around in the air lazily. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the darkening sky, frowning, then looked at me. "...You fell asleep."

"Yeah, no duh..." I said, rolling my eyes. "You fell asleep too, you know."

"I only went to sleep because I couldn't get up, thanks to you," he said, his face expressionless, but I could tell he was trying to suppress a smile. I smiled at him, and finally he gave up and smiled back. I was pretty sure that was the first time I'd seen him smile genuinely and not in a teasing way, and he looked much better without the scowl he usually had on his face.

I stood up, stretching my arms out above my head, and started walking down the hill. "Come on, let's go back."

He smirked. "All right, go ahead. Lead the way," he said as he stood up.

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he smiled sincerely again, raising an eyebrow. "Wow... I sort of thought you were more mature than that." He stuck his tongue out at me too. I made a face at him and he laughed, which caused me to laugh too, and I had a smile on my face as we walked through the trees.

Ikuto walked with his hands in his pockets, looking up at the pink sky. "I wonder why I feel like I can talk to you so easily."

"I dunno, you tell me."

He shook his head. "I don't know either... You know, you're the only person I've showed that hill to. I don't think anyone else here even knows about it."

"Why not? It's so nice there," I said, frowning. "You don't bring your friends there?"

He shrugged. "I usually like to be alone."

"Why would you want to be alone? It's not as fun."

"I don't know, I just do. I guess 'cause I don't like crowds."

"I guess that makes sense," I sighed, putting my hands into my pockets to try and warm them up. Now that it was getting dark, it was getting cold too, and I didn't have a jacket. "Then why'd you let me come with you?" He shrugged again, and I shrugged too.

When we got back to the house, everyone was still gone except for Rima and Miki. They were both talking in the kitchen as they ate, and I noticed there were two plates of food set out for what I assumed was Ikuto and me.

"Is this for me?" I asked when I walked in. Rima looked up and nodded. "And that one's for Ikuto. We weren't sure when you guys were coming back... Where did you guys go, anyway?"

"Nowhere—We just walked around in the woods."

"For that long?" Rima and Miki looked at each other, sharing a knowing look.

"It's not like that!" I said, my face heating up.

They both laughed. "If you say so."

I sat down and started to eat my dinner, but I didn't feel hungry for some reason. Ikuto sat next to me and ate all of his in just a few minutes. I picked at the food with my fork, then finally just threw it away when I was sure I couldn't eat more.

"So, they haven't come back yet, huh?" I asked absently, though I wasn't really thinking about it much. I was surprised when a worried look crossed Miki's face.

"No... They haven't." She frowned and I finally noticed that she'd been constantly glancing out the window, which had a view of the front of the house, the whole time we'd been eating. I wasn't sure what to say. Was something wrong?

Ikuto and Miki's eyes met and they seemed to know what the other was thinking, because they both of their expressions darkened. I looked at Rima, who seemed just as confused as me, and finally asked, "...What's wrong? They're coming back, right?"

"Of course they are..." But she didn't look like she believed it herself.

After a long hour or so of idle chatter, we heard the front door open and slam shut. Miki jumped up. "Yoru!" But it was Kukai who walked in. He was a mess—He was dripping wet, his hair messy and disheveled and his clothes in tatters, and he was also covered in injuries. He had three jagged red lines of blood running down his cheek, and they looked like marks from claws.

I also noticed that he had gained several animal features—He had pointy, wolf-like ears sticking up from the top of his head, and a shaggy gray tail that faded into black at the tip, and drooped behind him. His eyes, I was a little startled to see, had turned a bright, unnatural icy blue color, and I couldn't see his teeth, but if I were to guess they were probably all sharp and deadly. He had a sheathed knife hanging at his side, but the sheath was smeared with still-wet blood. I felt sick just looking at it.

"We've got trouble," he said darkly.


	7. The Attack

_**~Chapter Seven: The Attack**_

I was too bewildered by Kukai's beaten up appearance to manage to say anything. Ikuto stood up, a concerned frown on his face, and Miki looked like she had just been struck. Rima seemed less confused and more scared/terrified, her eyes wide from shock, and I assumed that if I could see my face, I would have a similar expression.

Kukai walked past us to the back of the kitchen then pulled out a key, pushing it into the lock on a door that I'd never seen the other side of before. He walked inside the dark room, and came back out again with an armful of weapons, dumping them on the table. There were guns, knives, and even a few swords. "Take your pick."

I stared at him, and he met my gaze with a weary and somewhat angry expression, his icy eyes glinting in the light. His face held a sort of animalistic, wild look, and it surprised me how completely and utterly _different _he was from how I'd known him before. His wet clothes were plastered to his body, and most of the torn parts were stained with blood. His upper lip curled back slightly, revealing sharp canine teeth, and he snarled in warning. I snatched up the closest thing to me—A small, silver revolver pistol. It had intricate designs etched into the sides, and if it weren't meant for killing, I would've considered it pretty.

Miki picked up a short sword without hesitation, her gaze determined. Ikuto was scowling, but he took a knife, shoving it with its sheath on in his pocket. Rima didn't take anything, just stared with wide eyes at the pile of weapons. Ikuto nudged her arm, and, shaking, she picked up a gun that was similar to mine.

Finally I stuttered out a sentence. "W-what are these f-for...?" I asked, my voice higher pitched than normal. Kukai was really scaring me, and I didn't like the looks on Ikuto and Miki's faces. What did they know that Rima and I didn't?

"To defend yourself. We're under attack." Kukai had taken a few of the smaller weapons and put them in his pocket, and was now carrying the rest back into the room. Why was there a room with weapons anyway? He locked it behind him, and I spoke up again.

"From... Who?" All four of them exchanged a look with each other, and I clenched my teeth. So there was a secret they were hiding, and even Rima knew about it.

"It's hard to explain," Kukai said briskly, walking back to the front door. I noticed it had started to rain, explaining Kukai's soaked clothes. "Come on, it'll be safer if we go to the Loft." Just as he said the last word, there was a sharp, wild cry that sounded from just outside the house. It didn't sound human—But it didn't quite sound animal-like either. "Shit," Kukai muttered, then said louder, "I'll take care of it—Wait here."

No one objected. He pushed the door and closed it quickly behind him. There was another loud howl, and my eyes were drawn to the window near the door. The porch light wasn't on so I couldn't see much, but before I could look away or close my eyes, I saw a dark figure drop down from the roof and land next to Kukai with it's hands—Claws?-Outstretched, just inches away from his throat. With a quick motion of his hand, Kukai pulled out a pocket knife and slashed it through the figure's arm, causing it to howl with pain.

Unable to look away now, I watched as the creature, whatever it was, lashed out at Kukai, swiping its claws through his chest. He doubled over and I was almost sure that the creature would kill him, but Kukai suddenly dropped his pocket knife and pounced on the creature, both of them rolling into the grass and out of view. I drew in a sharp breath and held it, expecting the worst to have happened, but Kukai stood up a minute or so later. I couldn't see him very well, but I could tell that he was shaking. I opened the door and tried to go outside, but Ikuto grabbed my arm. "You'll regret it if you see what's out there."

I furrowed my brow in frustration and went back inside as Ikuto walked out to help Kukai. When they were both safely inside the house, we shut and locked the door tightly before helping Kukai into the kitchen.

His breathing was labored and there was a thin film of sweat covering his face. He sat still as Miki peeled off his ruined shirt and inspected his wound—He had four deep cuts slicing diagonally down his torso, starting at the top of his chest near his heart and ending just above his waist. The claws had sliced deep into his skin, tearing through flesh and muscle. Besides near the wound, he also had blood on his face, especially near his mouth, and he was basically just a bloody mess.

As Miki went off to look for medicine and bandages, we tried to decide what we should do. How were we going to bring Kukai to the Loft if he couldn't really move?

"Maybe you guys should stay here, and I'll go find out what's happening outside," Ikuto suggested.

A frown tugged at my lips. "What if another one of those things come here? Kukai obviously won't be able to fight it..." I pointed out.

"Miki is a good fighter, she'll be able to fight it off. And anyway, that'll only happen if it manages to get inside. The doors and windows are locked, and I won't be gone long—You all even have weapons. You'll be fine," he insisted.

I frowned down at the floor for a while, then looked up at Ikuto. "Fine. But... I want to go with you."


	8. Tainted Past

**~Chapter 8: Tainted Past**

He knit his brows together in confusion. "What for? If anything, you'll be more safe from the—From those things here." My scowl deepened when he hesitated before saying 'those things.' Why wasn't he telling me anything?

I shook my head. "I don't know... I just..." I felt tears start to well up and I quickly blinked them away, not wanting to seem like a wimp—Even if I was one.

He sighed. "Fine, whatever. Rima, is that okay?" Rima shrugged, looking down at the floor. I felt a twinge of guilt. Was I being selfish? "Come on, let's go," Ikuto said. I followed him out the door, glancing back at Rima, who was kneeling next to Kukai with a comforting hand on his arm.

It was cold, especially since I didn't have a jacket, and the rain only made it worse. Ikuto didn't have a jacket either, but he seemed unbothered by the cold weather. I wrapped my arms around myself, wishing I had thought to buy a jacket at one point.

We walked through the trees without a problem for a while. Ikuto steered me away from the body of the creature that Kukai had killed, and we didn't hear any more howls or sounds as we walked. But for some reason, I had a feeling that I was being watched, and I couldn't shake it no matter how much I tried.

When I finally decided to voice this feeling to Ikuto, he froze and spun around, pulling the knife he had taken earlier out of his pocket. He narrowed his eyes, looking at the trees and the bushes surrounding us, but I didn't see anything. "Take out your gun," he ordered, and, frowning, I pulled it out and held it loosely at my side.

A growl rose out of Ikuto's throat, starting out slow, but getting louder with every second. I saw something move in the shadows—A shift in the dark, shadow moving upon shadow. I tensed, unsure of what to do, and waited to see what Ikuto would do. He inched closer to the spot that I had seen movement—I guess he'd seen it too.

Suddenly the shape leaped out of the shadows, moving too quick for me to process it, and dove at Ikuto. He growled and slashed at it with his knife, but the creature dodged out of the way. Just as quick as it attacked Ikuto, it rounded on me, hissing and snapping it's jaws.

Now that it was facing me, I could actually see what it looked like. It didn't look anything like the creature I'd seen earlier.

This thing was on all fours, and, in the dark, reminded me of a panther or leopard or something similar. The creature's long muzzle was pointed and it had several long, sharp teeth glinting in the dark between its furled lips. I couldn't make out the color of its fur, but it was long and shiny, its tail flicking back and forth behind it. Its bright green eyes shone in the darkness and it surprised me how human they looked, besides the wild look they had in them.

Stumbling back, I stared, too surprised to do anything, my gun falling with a soft thud to the ground by me feet. For a terrifying few seconds I was sure I was going to die as it pounced on me, pushing me onto the ground, and dug its claws into my skin then ripped them out again messily, causing me to cry out in pain. But Ikuto tackled the creature, pushing it off of me, and sank his teeth into its neck as he scratched it with claws I didn't know he had. Before the creature could react, he took his knife and slit its throat, then shoved it away from him and stood up, wiping his bloodied mouth with his sleeve.

I started to walk to Ikuto, but I stopped short when I saw what the body of the creature was doing. It was bubbling, like it was melting, its skin and flesh falling off to reveal muscle and bones. Frozen, I watched with horror, my eyes wide.

Something covered my eyes and I shouted out, and tried to push whatever it was away, digging my nails into something soft. I heard Ikuto call out "Ow!" and I gasped, dropping my hands to my sides. "I'm trying to help you, stupid!" he said angrily.

"Uh... Sorry..." I felt my face flush with embarrassment as I let him lead me away from the melting body, his hand still covering my eyes. After we had walked a good ways away, he dropped his hand, and I blinked, my eyes adjusting. He held out his hand toward me, and I dizzily took what he was holding—The gun that I had dropped. I shoved it into my pocket.

"...Are you all right?" he asked me, nodding at my wounds from the creature. I looked down at them, surprised at how bloody they were. They didn't hurt at all, and I nodded absently. My stomach was churning from the memory of the bloody mass that was the creature's body. I had only seen it for a few seconds, but I couldn't get the image out of my mind. If Ikuto saw the sickened look on my face, he didn't say anything.

I decided that I wanted some answers and I wanted them now. I stopped walking, and Ikuto looked over his shoulder at me, confused. "What is it? Come on, or I'll leave you behind."

I shook my head. "Not until you explain what's happening first."

* * *

Ikuto rolled his eyes and started walking again, but I stayed put. When he glanced back and saw that I wasn't bluffing, he groaned and slowly walked back.

"Fine," he sighed. "What do you want to know?"

I frowned at him. "What are those things? Why did that one... Melt?"

He turned away. I wasn't sure if it was intention, but I couldn't see his face as he said, "Those things... We've called them a lot of things, like monsters, creatures, demons, but 'mutants' seems to stick best. Basically, they're just like us, just a little more extreme, I guess."

I furrowed my brow. "What's that supposed to mean? That thing wasn't even human, it was an animal... Sort of."

"Exactly. We're not this laboratory's first experiments—They've had others before us. They used to experiment with animals and humans in a different way, and... It didn't really work out."

"In what way...?"

He sighed resignedly and turned to look at me. "Okay, you want the whole story? Here it is." He scowled and said, "These scientists aren't good people. They used to kidnap normal people off the streets, as long as the person was compatible with their experiments. They switched to taking people who almost died so there was less suspicion from the police, and because its a pretty good cover story, but they don't do it to save people.

"They experimented with combining animal and human DNA, and at first it seemed successful. They erased the memories of the people they kidnapped, and told them that they had agreed to being experimented on before their memories were taken. After they were done experimenting as much as they could, they tossed them in cells and forgot about them, since by the time they were done they looked so deformed or had so many weird side-effects that it wouldn't be possible for them to go back to their old lives.

"But eventually, once they had already created a few hundred mutant people, things started to go wrong. Most of the mutants started to go crazy, getting really violent and dangerous. They started to become more animal than human. Some of them broke out of their cells and killed scientists, and then were killed themselves. Then one day, almost all of the mutants decided to break out on the same day. They overpowered the scientists and left the laboratory, going out into the rest of the world. They hate people and civilization, and stick mostly to woods, but they'll attack anyone at anytime, for absolutely no reason. A lot of disappearances and murders are because of them."

His fists were clenched and his scowl had deepened significantly, and I wondered why he felt so strongly about this, or why he even knew about it in the first place. It didn't seem like the scientists would tell anyone about this kind of stuff, especially their new experiment subjects.

I wondered if he was done, but he went on, saying in a slightly shaky voice, "But no, they did more than that. They may not care much about people, but they're not killers—Not technically. It wasn't their intention to destroy the world, which is probably what will happen if the mutants keep living free and breeding. So, they decided to make _more _fucking mutants."

He was practically seething by now. "Um... Are you okay?" I asked him, frowning worriedly.

Ikuto shook his head, taking a deep breath. "I'm fine. Do you want me to tell you the rest or not?"

I nodded, and he continued, "Okay... Well, they decided to make more mutants, just in a better way—Like you. After experimenting with the first ones, they found out lots of things about the animal DNA. For one, it makes you stronger, faster, and a lot more enduring—As in, you can get hurt really badly and still survive. But it doesn't just change you physically, it changes you mentally too.

Your behavior, your personality, all of it changes. That's part of the reason they kept erasing memories. You start to behave more like an animal, especially when it comes to fighting, or killing…" He hesitated for a moment. "Basically, they made you so you can kill the mutants for them."


	9. Jealousy

_**Chapter 9: Jealousy**_

I stood there, staring at him blankly, for almost a whole minute before I fully understood what he'd said. When I finally did, my eyes grew wide and my mouth fell slightly open.

"You're kidding, right..?" I asked, and he shook his head. I took a deep breath, trying not to freak out.

"We should get going," he said softly, and I nodded slowly. We started walking again, and this time no creatures—mutants—interrupted us.

"So... They're going to make me kill those things?" I asked after a while in a small voice.

He shook his head. "No. They won't force you, probably because they don't want another riot like what happened before. But they do have... Rewards, I guess, for the people who do."

"Rewards?"

"Well... I don't really trust them, but they said that if all the mutants are captured, they will let everyone that they've experimented on go. They'll give them their memories back and let them go back to their old lives. Which is great, I guess, if they were telling the truth, and if our families didn't think we were dead."

I frowned. "That doesn't seem like much of a reward."

"It could be... Especially for the people who are new, like you, and have only been missing in society for a few weeks or maybe months. And anyway, some of us don't want to leave just to go back to their families. Some of us just don't want to spend their lives living in a laboratory against their will."

"You want to leave?" I asked, slightly surprised. He shrugged, but I knew I had heard wistfulness in his voice. I decided to drop it for now and asked another question. "Why were you guys keeping this stuff a secret from me?" An accusing tone had crept into my voice, and Ikuto frowned.

"We weren't. We usually just wait a while before telling newcomers this stuff, to try and make it a little less scary for them, I guess."

"Then why wouldn't you guys tell me about the creatures...? I mean, mutants."

"Because there wasn't really much time to explain it all. We weren't trying to keep secrets," he said, yawning near the end. His fangs almost looked like they had gotten longer and sharper, and I remembered his claws that had somehow appeared earlier.

"Oh, yeah. What was all that about, when you scratched that cr—mutant?" I asked, faltering when I said mutant. I was still pretty used to saying creature in my head. "I didn't know you had claws."

"Claws..." He let out a breath. "It's another thing about the animal DNA. When you fight, or you get mad or feel threatened, your animal features sort of... Appear. After a while, you learn to control it, so you don't just randomly grow ears or a tail in the middle of a conversation, but at first they show up all the time... Kind of like yours."

"Kind of like... Mine?" I repeated, confused. He nodded at the top of my head, and I reached up, feeling nothing.

"Move your hand to the right," he said in a slightly impatient voice, and I did, still frowning. I almost screamed when I felt something soft brush the side of my hand, quickly yanking my hand away. I noticed the grin on Ikuto's face and I scowled at him, turning away before he could see my red cheeks.

"Don't worry, they make you look cute," he commented. "It helps distract from your face."

My mouth fell open and I turned around, shoving him. "Jerk!"

He stumbled, laughing, and stuck his tongue out at me. I tried not to smile but failed, sticking my tongue out back.

I reached my hands up again, feeling the ears. They were soft and furry, and I could feel my fingers through them, proving they were actually a part of my body. I grimaced and dropped my hand, trying not to feel grossed out about it.

* * *

"Wait... If I have ears..." I muttered out loud. I twisted my waist around to look behind me, and sucked in a breath when I saw that I had a tail too. It was long and I could see even in the dark that it was striped, most likely orange and black, the end of it curled upward to make a sort of circle. Making a face, I turned back around, glaring at Ikuto's teasing expression.

We continued to walk, and I kept tugging at my tiger ears. Before, when I hadn't known they were there, they didn't bother me but now they felt strange and unpleasant. I wondered when they'd go away, and I hoped that maybe when they did, the four sharp teeth in my mouth would go away with them.

Finally, we got to the Loft. All of the lights were on inside, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night. We walked up to the front doors, which were closed, and Ikuto knocked. No one answered. I was sure I could hear voices from inside though, and I knocked again. Still no answer.

Ikuto muttered a curse and pulled me by my hand around to the side of the building, where there was a window with curtains hanging over it on the inside. He knocked on the window impatiently, and finally someone peeked out from the side of the curtains. When they saw Ikuto and me they left, and Ikuto and I walked back to the front. The doors opened for us and we stepped inside, looking around.

There were a few people here, almost all of them young or sort of weak-looking. I counted about eight in all. One young girl seemed familiar, and I realized that she was the same girl that I had seen on my first day here, the one that had been attacked by the wolf. She looked fine, besides a few bandages which were wrapped around her upper leg, where she had been bitten.

"Ikuto!" A girl hopped up from where she had been sitting and jogged over to us. She had curly brown hair and green eyes, and was smiling widely. She threw her arms around Ikuto, who looked uncomfortable, then pulled away and looked up at him, her expression worried.

"How did you get here?! Did any mutants attack you?" she asked in an annoyingly high-pitched voice. She didn't bother to even look in my direction, and I made a face at her even though she couldn't see. She annoyed me already, and I didn't like how close she seemed to be with Ikuto, for whatever reason.

Ikuto glanced at me, his eyes almost seeming like he was pleading for help. I smirked at him and he glared at me before turning his gaze back to the girl. He took a step back, so he wasn't as close to her, and then said, "We just walked, and no, we were fine," he answered in a monotonous voice.

The girl frowned. "Are you sure? You're all bloody...!" Her voice made me want to strangle her, and I kept my fists clenched at my sides, trying not to loose my temper. I was a little surprised at how mad I was getting and how quickly.

"I fought one on the way here, but it was a while ago."

"Oh! You fought one? You're so brave~!" she said. I dug my nails into my palm, then cried out and looked down. My nails had somehow grown into claws. I stared at them for a while with wide eyes, then realized that something heavy was in my mouth. I reached up, careful not to scratch myself with my claws, and felt my skin touch something sharp—My fangs had elongated and now hung slightly over my bottom lip. Embarrassed, I covered my mouth with my hand and curled my fingers into my palm, hoping no one had seen. I was getting this mad over a random girl?

Ikuto gave me a look—Apparently he had seen. I blushed in embarrassment as he continued talking to the girl, "Saaya, I'm sort of busy. Can we talk later?"

She pouted, but went away after a little more insistence from Ikuto. He took my hand and pulled me to the back of the room, where the girl who I'd seen several times reading a book was sitting. She looked up at Ikuto and frowned, her blonde hair falling into her eyes. She brushed it out of the way and asked, "What do you want, Ikuto?"

"I need you to take care of her," he said, nodding at me. "I'm going to go help everyone else fight..."


	10. Regret

_**~Chapter 10: Regret**_

I frowned. "What do you mean, take care of me?" I asked angrily, my words coming out somewhat strange thanks to my extra-long fangs. My hand went to my mouth again in embarrassment, but the girl didn't seem think anything of it.

"What, you think you're going to come with? You couldn't even handle the mutant in the woods," he said incredulously.

"Well... I was just surprised. I could handle it if there was another one," I complained, but he shook his head.

"No way. I don't even know what's going on, for all I know it could be a lot more serious than I thought. You're staying here."

"I'm going with you whether you like it or not." We glared at each other until the girl cleared her throat.

"Um, hello? I'm still here." When we were both looking at her she said, "Most of the mutants broke in near the west wall, by Nagihiko's den. There are a lot around here, by the Loft, but other than that almost all of them are over there. And I think they said there were about ten or fifteen in all."

"How did they get here, anyway?" I asked, confused.

The girl sighed. "How should I know? I think that girl Utau messed up on one of her missions and led a bunch of them back here." I frowned, worried about Utau. If she had messed up, was she...-? I didn't finish the thought, as it was too scary to think about.

"Anyway, I'm going to see if they've already killed them all yet. Amu, you're staying here," he ordered me. A growl suddenly tore out of my throat, surprising me as well as Ikuto. It was low and threatening, and Ikuto started to growl too. It honestly probably would've seemed pretty ridiculous if it wasn't so scary.

"Guys! Cut it out! I do _not_ need two bitching little girls in here right now!" the girl said angrily. By now everyone in the room was staring at us, and I felt my face heat up from embarrassment—Again. "Just go together. I'm sure they already killed them all, and if they didn't, well, now is as good a time as any for her to learn how to fight," she said, her voice lowered back to a normal-sounding volume. I looked at Ikuto, who was scowling at her.

"Fine." He turned to me, glaring. "But if you get killed, it's not my fault, okay?"

"Fine," I said, making a face at him. "Oh, don't worry, I'll be fine. I've got a gun, see?"

"Yeah, a gun that you dropped the second the mutant looked at you," he accused. I frowned at him and he rolled his eyes, walking back to the door.

I stayed behind for a second. "Hey, um, what's your name?" I asked the girl.

She looked at me, giving me a weird look. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I was just wondering..."

"My name's Lulu."

"Oh, well, my name's Amu."

Ikuto called from by the door, "Are you coming or not!" I waved bye to Lulu and jogged over to Ikuto. We walked back outside together, into the cold and the rain, and toward what was probably going to result in my death.

The rain had lightened a lot since before, but it was still freezing cold outside. I wondered why I hadn't asked for a jacket or something when we were in the Loft, but I hadn't thought about it until I was back into the cold. Ikuto was still seeming fine, and I wondered how he was fine in the rain if he was a...

I frowned. Did I even know which animal's DNA he'd gotten? I realized that the only one I actually knew for sure was Utau and myself. I mean, I'd guessed what they were, but no one had actually told me.

"What animal are you?" I asked Ikuto cautiously. I didn't want him to get mad.

He glanced at me before answering, "Cat."

"Okay. I thought so," I said in a thoughtful voice. I looked up at him, wondering if he was in a bad mood now, but his face was unreadable. "Hey... Who was that girl that was all obsessed with you?" I asked him.

His unreadable expression quickly turned into a scowl. "She's... She likes me, I guess."

"Yeah, no kidding. I mean, who is she?"

"Her name is Saaya. She's got a crush on me, as you could see. Why don't you tell me who she is? She obviously got you mad enough to make you want to hurt someone," he said in an innocent voice.

I scowled at him, instinctively bringing my hand back to my mouth to cover the fangs. "How should I know? I've only been here for a few days. She just... made me mad." I frowned, blushing.

He smirked. "Sure. I bet you were jealous," he teased. I stared at him with an incredulous look.

"Uh, no," I said with certainty. He raised his eyebrows at me, and I was a little amazed at how childish he could act. Well, it wasn't like I acted much better.

As we continued to walk, I wondered why all the buildings here were so far apart from each other. Why weren't they all just together? It took forever just to get from our pack's house to the Loft. I figured maybe it was for exercise or something, or maybe just because they felt like it.

A little while into our venture in the forest, I started to hear sounds. Screams, wails, those sorts of things. They sent chills down my spine, and I shivered even more than I already had been.

Ikuto could obviously hear them too, because he looked tense and ready to bust out his knife any second. I reached my hand into my pocket, keeping a hand on my gun. I didn't think I would use it even if I got the chance, but it still made me feel safer than just walking helplessly into the middle of a fight.

The cries started to get louder. Most of them sounded more animal than human, which hopefully meant it was the mutants dying and not us, but I also heard human screams every once in a while. Something bloody rolled out from the trees next to our feet and I yelped, jumping backward. Ikuto pulled me away from it and I looked away before I got a good enough look to figure out what it was.

I could see lights in the distance, probably coming from the house—or den, as everyone else called them—that Lulu had mentioned. Now that there was a light source, even from far away, I could see all the fights around us. I tried not to look to close, not wanting to see anything gruesome.

I shifted uneasily. "Um... Maybe I shouldn't have come after all..."

Ikuto turned to me, giving me a deadpanned look. I frowned back at him. "Are you serious? You gave me hell about not bringing you, and now that we're here you just want to go back?"

"Well... I didn't think it would be this bad..." I muttered, looking down at my feet.

He gave an exasperated sigh. "I don't have time to take you back..." He trailed off, and I heard him take a sharp breath.

Forcing myself not to look in the same direction he was looking, I asked worriedly, "What?"

He shook his head slowly, his gaze not moving from that direction for a few seconds before he turned back to me and said urgently, "Amu, I'm gonna have to leave you here alone. All right?"

I stared at him, eyes wide. "W-what? I don't want to be alone! What if one of those things attack me?"

He looked over again, his expression clearly saying that I didn't have a choice. "That's your fault, you shouldn't have come with in the first place. You have your gun—Use it."

"I..." I began to realize just how completely stupid I was. I should've stayed at the Loft, where it was safe. There had been no point in coming here. In fact, I should've stayed at the den with Rima, Kukai and Miki. I would've been safe in either place, but I had been selfish and unreasonable. I wanted to kick myself. Instead I muttered embarrassedly, "Sorry... I'll stay here."

He nodded and quickly left, leaving me alone. I pulled out my gun from my pocket, turning it over in my hand, lost in thought. I considered going out to help fight, but I immediately banished the thought—The idea of killing someone, even if it was a mutant, was just too horrible. I decided to walk farther away from the fights, so I wouldn't have to see anything, and turned around to head in the other direction.

I walked for a minute or two then turned back around. I couldn't see the house or any mutants, though I could still hear them. Sighing, I leaned back against a tree, feeling like an idiot.

I touched the tips of my fingers to my lips—The fangs were still there. Checking absently, I saw that I still had my ears and tail, as well as claws. I wondered how it worked—How did we grow teeth and ears and stuff like that out of no where? If I were to guess, I would have assumed that if your DNA was mixed with an animals, you would just keep those things all the time, no matter what your mood was. But then again, I had no idea how genetics and DNA worked. And Utau did say she thought the scientists had done more than just add animal DNA.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and laughed at myself quietly. _I am such an idiot,_ I thought. People were fighting and possibly dying, including Ikuto, and I was standing here thinking about DNA. I shook my head and tried to decide whether or not I should punch myself now.

I heard the bushes beside me rustle, and I jumped, taking a step back. I stared, eyes narrowed, at the bushes, but I didn't see anything. My heart was already beating quickly and I laughed at my jumpyness. "There's nothing there," I said to myself aloud.

"_Think again,_" something hissed from the trees above me. Before I could react, something big dropped down from the trees and landed in front of me.


	11. Disgust

_**~Chapter 11: Disgust**_

**WARNING**: This chapter is kind of gross, so if you get sick easily I suggest not reading it.

* * *

I was shocked to see that it looked human, but my shock quickly turned to horror when I realized that it didn't look human at all, besides its body's shape.

The thing—I assumed it was a mutant—Had the body of a girl. She was clothed in tattered rags that barely covered anything on her body, and they were covered in dark splatters—I didn't want to think about what they were from. Her hair was long and messy, and her bangs desperately needed a trim. Her arms started out normal, then morphed into furry paws, the orange fur starting just below her elbow, and were topped off with long, sharp claws. Her bare feet were deformed in a similar fashion, though the claws were much shorter. Parts of the skin on her stomach and shoulders was not actually skin but more fur.

But worst of all was her face. It was splotched orange and skin-colored, the orange parts being furry and greasy-looking. She had long whiskers hanging down from both sides of her face, and her thin lips were chapped and dry. Her eyes were a dark bloodred color, the pupils slits instead of round, and her cat-like ears were torn up and disgusting.

I screamed shrilly, my hands covering to my mouth mid-scream, horrified at the sight of the monster in front of me. I went numb, paralyzed by the sudden fear, and stared, trembling. The mutant opened her mouth in a psychotic grin, revealing several razor-sharp, bloodstained teeth, and laughed wildly. The sound was terrible, a screeching, animal-like noise that should never come out of a human mouth.

The sound roused me, and I quickly pulled out my gun with a shaking hand. The mutant narrowed her eyes at it, then laughed again, causing me to almost drop the gun. She said in a dry, scratchy voice, "Go ahead! Kill me! I can see it in your eyes, girl—You're too weak to kill."

I tightened my grip on the gun, my fingers trembling. Breathing hard, I tried to pull the trigger—But I couldn't do it. The mutant girl saw this, and screeched her horrible laugh again, wild eyes filled with mirth.

"I knew it! How pathetic, a little girl who can't even save her own life." She danced closer, her red eyes never breaking contact with mine. "Don't you wish someone would save you? Hmm? Who is it you want to save you?" She was close enough that I could smell her hot breath, which smelled like blood and uncooked flesh. Gagging, I tried to turn away, but she caught my chin with her paw, her claws digging into my cheeks. "Go on, call to him! I'm sure it's a boy, yes? No, a man. Your handsome prince charming, who will save you from any danger." She leaned closer to me, and I squirmed in her grip. I could see her teeth up close now, and they were covered with blood, both dry and new, with bits of flesh and other nasty things stuck in between them. They were horrifyingly sharp, much sharper than mine, and much longer too. "Wellhe's_ not coming,_" she hissed, spitting chunks of dried blood and flesh onto my cheek.

I winced, shaking, and gulped before screaming out as loud as I could, "_Ikuto!"_

The mutant suddenly went silent, her eyes narrowing at me. "Ikuto?" she growled. "Ikuto is dead. Who are you talking about?"

I didn't answer, staring at her with wide, scared eyes. She snarled and shoved me against the tree, slashing her claws through my cheek. I yelped, and she hissed, "_Where. Is. Ikuto?_" She pressed her claws against my throat, demanding me to answer.

Trembling uncontrollably, I raised my gun again. She didn't bother with it, probably thinking I would never use it anyway. _It's now or never, _I thought to myself urgently. But I just couldn't do it. The mutant screamed in anger at my silence and pounced on me, sinking her teeth into my neck. I shrieked and my fingers tightened, pulling the trigger.

There was a deafening crack as the gun fired. The mutant went rigid, her slit-pupil eyes growing wide as she stared down at the gun. I stared at it too, a horrified look fixed on my face.

Blood started to pool out of the mutant's bullet wound, out of her and on to me. She screeched, pain etched into her sickening features, and glared at me with demonic eyes. I swore I heard her whisper, "Ikuto..." just before she started melting—All over me.

I screamed louder than I had ever screamed before, to the point that I started choking. Some of the melting flesh trickled into my mouth and I gagged, spitting it out with disgust. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see the mass of blood, muscle, and bones that was now on top of me, and unsuccessfully tried to push it all off, squirming and writhing in disgust.

I felt something lift me up, out of the sticky melted flesh. I squirmed, and started to scream again, but it quickly turned into a painful cough. I felt myself being set down again on the ground, hopefully a good distance away from the melting body, and I cracked one eye open and then the other. Seeing the redness that I was covered in, I gagged and leaned forward, retching painfully into the grass. I felt someone's hand on my arm, but I barely noticed it. When I was done vomiting, I collapsed on the ground, too tired to care about getting away from it. I looked up and saw that Ikuto was kneeling next to me, a concerned frown on his face. Breathing heavily, I closed my eyes and focused on not choking.

I felt myself being picked up again, and this time I didn't try struggling. I was too sick to my stomach to even care. I just wanted to get away from the smell of blood, the smell of flesh and death.

I heard Ikuto mutter things like, "It's okay," and "It's all right," again and again, his voice low and soft. After a while, the rhythmic feel of his steps felt oddly soothing, and I drifted off into a calm sleep.


	12. Painful Awakening

_**~Chapter 12: Painful Awakening **_

When I woke up, I was back in my room at the den. I sat up sleepily, then immediately fell back down when my body was racked with pain. I closed my eyes, taking low, shallow breaths, until my breathing returned to normal and the ache had died to a dull throb. I sat up again, more slowly this time, and when I was sure it wasn't going to start hurting I looked around with tired eyes.

I noticed that someone had changed my clothes into pajamas. Groggily I wondered who it had been. I felt pressure around my throat and I pressed a hand carefully against it, feeling cloth. Straining my head to see, and causing my throat to explode with pain in the process, I saw several white bandages had been wrapped around my neck. Confused, I furrowed my brow, trying to remember what had happened that would make me need bandages.

When I finally remembered, I gasped audibly and dug my nails into my palm so hard I drew blood. I suddenly felt dizzy and sick. Pulling my legs up and resting my head on my knees, I breathed deeply, trying to keep calm. I partially hoped that it had just been a dream, or rather a nightmare, but the bandages were enough to prove that it hadn't been.

When I felt like I could walk without falling, I slowly slipped my legs off the side of the bed, putting a hand on the wall to steady myself as I stood up. My whole body ached. At least I felt clean—I was pretty sure someone had washed me too.

I started walking across the room, but I stumbled over something on the floor. I glanced down, and was surprised to see Ikuto was sleeping there, using his arm as a pillow. He mumbled in his sleep and rolled over, his expression looking pained, like he might be having a nightmare. I frowned and debated whether I should wake him or not.

I knelt down, careful not to move too quickly, and shook his shoulder. "Ikuto?"

He bolted upright, eyes wide and scared. For a brief second, he was completely unguarded, and I saw a glimpse of what he was actually feeling. He was terrified. But he quickly shook it off when he saw me.

He stood up and brushed his jeans off. Giving me an uneasy glance, he asked, "Are you all right...?"

I nodded. At that moment, I was more worried about him than myself. He looked terrible—He was pale, and even though he didn't look hurt or anything, I could tell he was shaking. "Are you?" I asked him, my lips curving into a frown.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" he furrowed his brow, apparently confused. But I had seen his expression when he'd woken up—He definitely wasn't fine.

I thought about questioning him more, but I decided to just drop it and instead asked, "Why are you sleeping on my floor?" I tried not to sound weirded out, because I wasn't really, but that was how it came out.

He ran a hand through his messy hair, seeming mildly embarrassed. "I was... Well... We were all worried about you, and we wanted to make sure you were okay."

"So you slept on my floor...?"

He glared at me. "Okay, next time I won't bother to check if you're fine. Honestly, I slept here because Miki told me you kept murmuring my name, and when I came in, you stopped. So I stayed." I blinked. He'd slept on the floor for me just because of that?

I decided to ask him more about it later today. My stomach was growling angrily, and my mouth felt like it was full of cotton. I started heading to the door again. I tried to walk more normally, embarrassed about Ikuto being right there, but that was a really bad idea—I doubled over, gasping for breath, feeling like I had just been stabbed in my gut. Within a second Ikuto was there, steadying me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ikuto asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. I looked up and glared at him.

"Jerk," I muttered as I sank down to my knees. I had a splitting headache now too, my eyes watering from pain. I blinked the tears away and sat there for a while as Ikuto sat next to me. He didn't say anything else, which I was sort of glad about. When I finally felt okay again, I looked over at him. His expression was filled with concern. I felt my face flush. Why was I being so wimpy? I hadn't even gotten hurt very badly...

I took a sharp breath, closing my eyes. Just thinking about what had happened yesterday made me want to puke. Not only because of how the body had melted onto me, but also because... I had _killed _someone. A living thing. It had even been something that could _talk. _Did that make me a murderer?

I shook my head and stood up. I wasn't going to think about this right now. Not with Ikuto sitting right there.

Ikuto stood up too, giving me a worried look. I smiled weakly back at him and opened the door, walking out into the hall. It wasn't until now that I had realized how unnaturally quiet the house was—Normally there was a lot of noise coming from downstairs. "Where is everyone?"

Ikuto shrugged. "I've been up here. I don't know."

I frowned. "Okay..." I walked down the stairs, feeling slightly dizzy.

Rima was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, leaning back against it. She heard me coming down the stairs and looked over, jumping up when she saw me. "Amu!" She threw her arms around my waist and hugged me tightly, causing me to yelp with pain. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I'm just so happy! We were all worried..." She trailed off. She didn't need to finish the sentence—I already knew what they were worried about.

She smiled at me happily, taking my hand and pulling me into the kitchen. "I bet you're starving! You haven't eaten for days. Here, I'll make you something..." She stuck her hand into the pantry, looking for something to make for me.

It was a little strange how cheerful she was acting. I started to wonder if maybe she was faking it. Then I realized she had said 'days.' "What do you mean, I haven't eaten in days?"

She was silent for a few seconds before answering, "You've been asleep for almost a whole week. We... We were seriously getting worried, Amu." When she turned back, she had tears streaming down her face. Quickly she wiped them away and smiled at me. "But you're fine, so it doesn't really matter." She glanced at the door to the kitchen, where we had left Ikuto. "...You know, Ikuto stayed in your room with you the whole time. He didn't even eat. Not in a creepy way, I mean, he was just really worried." She said it all quickly and in a low voice, like she didn't want anyone to overhear.

I stared at her, not quite believing it. A week? No wonder it hurt so much when I moved. And Ikuto had stayed with me the whole time?

Ikuto walked in right then, moving lazily. He yawned and called to Rima, "Hey, make me something too. I'm starving."

"Okay," Rima said, pulling out a bunch of ingredients that didn't seem like they'd make anything together.

Eying the ingredients, I whispered to Ikuto, "Does she know how to cook…?"

"No," he replied is a bored tone as he leaned back against the counter. I grimaced.

My body felt stiff and uncomfortable, still throbbing with pain. "Hey, Ikuto, can we go outside for a while?"

He frowned. "Are you sure you want to be going outside right now…?"

Why was he being so overly cautious? Jeez, he may as well have been my father. The thought only made me frown, reminding me that I had no idea who my father was and probably never would. "I'm fine, Ikuto. I can take care of myself, you know," I said matter-of-factly.

He shrugged, his frown persisting. "Fine, whatever. " He pushed himself off from the counter and headed outside, leaving me to stare after him in confusion.

"I'll come get you guys when the food's done," Rima said, not looking up from the stove. She had started throwing the ingredients in a pot and was stirring them around as the stove simmered on low.

"All right. Hey, Rima, where is everyone else?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, they're fine, don't worry about it. Most of them are at the Loft, I think."

I nodded, my expression troubled. I still didn't understand why Ikuto had stayed with me the entire time I'd slept. To be honest, I didn't understand how I'd slept for a week in the first place. I decided I'd ask Ikuto more about it while we were walking.

I stepped outside, breathing in the clean air. It was chilly, and I wrapped my pajama-clad arms around myself. Ikuto was leaning against a tree, his eyes closed. I walked up in front of him and nudged his foot with mine. His cat ears stood up straight and he opened his eyes, blinking. Had he been asleep?

"Sorry," he said, yawning once again. I finally noticed how tired he actually looked. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he hadn't been acting lazy earlier—Just tired. "I haven't been getting much sleep the last few days."

"What, so you were watching me in my sleep?" I asked, only half-joking.

He scowled at me. "No," he said in a monotone.

I sighed and figured I'd try asking him something else. "Okay, never mind about that. Ikuto, what happened?"

"What happened when?"

"You know what I mean. What happened with those mutants? I don't get it."

He furrowed his brow. "What's not to get?"

"I mean, why did you leave me alone? Why did that mutant attack me? How—" I gulped. "How did I manage to kill her? And why do I hurt so much?"

"Any more questions?" he muttered sarcastically. I ignored him and waited for him to answer.

He sighed. "Come on, let's walk. Isn't that what you came out here for?"

We started walking, not in any particular direction. Ikuto didn't talk, his hands in his pockets. I waited for him to start explaining, but he didn't.

"Well…?" I prompted him.

Ikuto frowned. "…So, you want to know why I left, right? It was because Yoru was in trouble. I had to help him, and I thought you'd be safe."

"Huh? What happened to Yoru?" I asked with concern.

"Nothing. I helped him fight the mutants that were attacking him, he only got a little beat up."

I stepped on a rock with my bare feet and winced. I looking down, realizing I hadn't worn my shoes. Jeez, I was such a scatterbrain. "Oh. That's good… Is Kukai all right?"

"I don't know," he said, not looking at me. So he wasn't going to mention how he had been in my room the entire time I was asleep?

Deciding not to bother him about it yet, I asked, "Why did the mutant decide to kill me? And why did she act like she knew who you are?"

He looked at me, confusion registering on his face. "She knew me?"

"She said you were dead."

His steps faltered, only for a second. "What else did she say?"

"She just said you were dead, that's all she mentioned about you before..." I trailed off.

He didn't answer, just kept walking. His speed had picked up though, and I had to jog to keep up, which caused a new pain to burn through my legs. I sighed. He evidently wasn't going to say more about this, so I asked the last question once he had slowed down. "Okay then, whatever. The last thing that I don't understand is… How did I kill her, Ikuto?" I stopped walking and gave him an expectant look, demanding that he answered clearly this time.


	13. A Promise

_**~Chapter 13: A Promise**_

He noticed that I wasn't walking anymore and he frowned, walking back to stand in front of me. He had a troubled look on his face as he said, "Amu, I honestly have no idea how you killed it. I'm just as confused as you are."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I said, confused.

"It means that even if you knew exactly how to kill one—Which you don't—and you had a good weapon and everything, I didn't think you'd be able to actually kill something. The look you always have on your face whenever the mutants and things come up in a conversation is proof of that." He looked away, still with a troubled expression, like he was trying not to say something to me.

"You're hiding something," I accused, frowning. He looked at me, confused.

"What do you mean, I'm hiding something?"

"You keep looking away, and you _still _won't answer clearly. Are you hiding that I was actually asleep for a week, not just for a night, and you didn't eat or anything the whole time? Because I already know. So it doesn't matter."

He stared at me, genuinely confused. I felt a blush creep onto my face. "Wait… That's not what you're hiding?"

His brow furrowed, he replied, "No, it's not. I wasn't keeping that a secret, I just didn't bother mentioning it. I already heard Rima tell you, so I figured it didn't matter. You honestly think I would care about something like that?"

"Uh… I don't know…" Now that I thought about it, it didn't really make sense. Since when would Ikuto care about what I thought about him, or anything like that? Feeling stupid, I turned away, not wanting him to see my blush.

After a minute or two he said, "Do you want to keep walking now, or should we go back?"

I sighed. "Can we go to that place with the hill again?"

He nodded, and we started walking in a different direction. Or, he did, and I followed.

"So… What happened that made those mutants come, anyways? No one died, right? You know… Besides the mutants."

"I don't really know. You can ask someone else about it later, I guess. All I know is that Utau's mission went wrong, and she accidentally lead a whole bunch of mutants back here. And no, I don't think anyone died. Not from our pack, at least."

"Mission…" I frowned. I still didn't know what exactly a mission or job was. "What do you do on those?"

"It depends on the person," he said in monotone. "Most of them are to go out into the real world and kill a mutant that has been causing a lot of trouble."

I felt my stomach twist. "Oh." Was _everything _about killing here?

We were both quiet the rest of the way to the hill. When we got there, I sort of stood at the bottom for a while—I hadn't realized how steep it actually was, and I didn't want to think what would happen if some part of my body started to hurt while I was climbing and I slipped. But Ikuto made fun of me for being too scared, and I climbed up anyway, despite my entire body protesting.

When we got to the top, I sat down carefully next to the tree. Nothing was hurting anymore besides my neck, where the bandages were covering, but I didn't want that to change.

Ikuto sat next to me, leaning against the tree with his eyes closed. There was a ladybug crawling on a blade of grass and I watched it until it flew away. Leaning back, I closed my eyes too, listening to the birds sing in the tree's branches. I was just about to fall asleep when I remembered that I still didn't know what Ikuto had been hiding.

I sat up, opening my eyes wide, and rubbed the sleep away from my eyes. Ikuto heard me and he opened his eyes, frowning at me. "What?"

"Ikuto, you never told me. What were you keeping a secret, if it wasn't that other thing?"

Ikuto scowled, closing his eyes again. "Nothing."

"It is something, I could tell. What is it?"

He sighed. "It's just… About that mutant you ki—fought. What animal did she look like…?"

I frowned, trying to remember. The mental image that came to mind was not pleasing, and my stomach started doing flip-flops. "Um, a leopard, or a lion. I couldn't tell."

His shoulders drooped, and he looked almost… sad. "That… I think you killed Yua. She was… My girlfriend, before."

I froze, not moving. His—girlfriend? "I'm sorry… I-I didn't know…"

"It's not like it's your fault. She was insane, and tried to kill you. It's okay." He meant to be reassuring, but his tone was sad, more sad than I'd ever heard him sound before. I felt my insides twist and turn with guilt.

"Wait… What do you mean, before?"

He scowled out at the forest below us. Looking dejected, he finally said, "I think we should go back."

"No. What do you mean before?"

He growled at me. "It's none of your business."

I felt my face heat up. I realized that this really wasn't my business. I had no right to ask him about this stuff, and apparently I killed his girlfriend, which was doubly horrible. I looked away, wishing I could just disappear.

Ikuto growled again, still scowling. "Fine. If you really want to know, then fine." I looked up at him, confused.

"No, you don't—"

"I'm a… mutant too. There it is. I'm no better than any of those mutants we killed a few days ago—In fact, I was actually friends with most of them once."

I stared at him for a second, then let out a small laugh. "You're kidding, right? I'm a mutant too. You're like me. Why would I care about that?" But it bugged me how he had said it—And what was with him saying he had been friendswith those mutants?

"No… Amu, I'm one of the _first_ mutants. The crazy kind."

I blinked. "But… You're not crazy."

"Are you sure about that?" he snarled, his eyes glinting. Now that I actually looked, I realized that his pupils were slits—Just like the mutant girl, his old girlfriend. His fangs hung out of his mouth as he snarled, and he suddenly looked terrifying.

I gulped and forced myself not to run away. "Y-yes, I'm sure," I said, but I was trembling slightly and my voice was an octave higher than normal.

Ikuto's shoulders sagged and he closed his eyes, going back to his normal non-scary self. "I just don't know, Amu," he said lowly. His voice had more emotion than his usual uncaring tone and he didn't sound just sad now, but sort of… scared, almost. "I've been living here for four years, and all I've ever done here is kill. I killed scientists during the first riot with the other mutants, and I've killed those same mutants after wards. Who's to say that I haven't always been insane, ever since the scientists—" he spat out the word like it was filthy on his tongue, "—mutated me into this, this monster?" He growled the last few words, and when he was done, he looked away with an ashamed look on his face.

I stared at him, not sure what to say. "You've been living here for… Four years?" I finally managed, talking slowly.

He grimaced and nodded. "I lost track after the third year—It might have been five."

"I… That's terrible." I frowned. What could I say? I wasn't able to relate—I'd only been here for a few weeks. "But… Didn't you say the scientists would let us go if we k-killed all the mutants?"

He barked out a short laugh. "I said _if _they're telling the truth. For all I know, they'll just use us to kill them and once they're gone they'll keep us here forever." He let out a sigh and stood up. "Sorry. I didn't mean to spill my life's story to you. Let's go back, Rima's food is probably done."

"Wait…" I took a deep breath. Ikuto had been here for _four years. _And his only hope to ever leave was if all the mutants were dead—Hopefully excluding himself. But… I could help with that…

"Ikuto," I said, my stomach churning.

"What?"

"I-I… If you want… I'll help. I'll kill all those mutants… I promise."

**A/N: Good job 'Secret' for figuring it out! :D**


	14. The Lake

_**~Chapter 14: The Lake**_

He stared at me before laughing. "Yeah… Sure. I don't know how you killed the one, but I do know that you can't kill more." He started walking down the hill, but I grabbed his arm.

"Wait! No, I'm serious. You can teach me how to fight, right? I'll do it. I want to leave here too, you know."

"Are you serious…?" He shook his head. "You are, aren't you. Well, why don't we talk about this later? I'm starving." He started walking down the hill again, and this time I followed him.

But I was determined now. I was going to help him, no matter what. Even if it meant killing. I'd already done it once, so what would it matter if I did it again? Like Ikuto said, they were insane, and if we didn't kill them they'd kill normal people for no reason. I didn't want that to happen.

When we got to the bottom, I hesitated before hugging Ikuto quickly before he had a chance to protest. He spun around. "What was that?"

I shrugged. He was trying to act cool, for my sake I guess, but it wasn't working very well. "I just want you to know that you're not alone."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he scoffed, rolling his eyes. But I refused to feel embarrassed this time.

"Nothing," I sighed. "I'm just glad I got to be friends with you."

"Tch, whatever. Who said we were friends, anyway?" he said as he started walking again.

"Oh, please. Don't try to tell me we're not friends now. You're the one who hung out in my room while I was sleeping—Actually, that makes you a pervert."

"What? I'm not the pervert! You're the one that likes to randomly hug people you barely know!"

I laughed and pushed him from behind. He didn't even budge. "You're mean."

"You're a wimp."

We continued to fight all the way back to the house. I guess maybe it wasn't very touching, but at least it wasn't tense anymore. And I was still sure that I would fight the mutants. I would help Ikuto get his freedom—I was sure of it.

* * *

The cat-like mutant jumped down from its perch in the tree, landing on all fours behind me. Holding my gun with both hands at arms length, I spun around and pulled the trigger. The mutant rolled out of the way of my bullet and snarled, foam dripping from its half-human mouth. It pounced, pushing me to the ground. I shot it through the heart and shoved it off me before it started to melt, wiping my hands off on my jeans.

Turning away before I had to see the mutant start to decompose, I broke into a run in the opposite direction. I didn't glance back. When I had gotten a good distance away, I slowed to a walk, so I could hear the sounds around me.

I heard birds singing, animals scampering through the trees, leaves crunching under my feet. No sign of another mutant. Just as I started to relax, I heard it—The sound of a careless mutant following me.

Not letting it know that I knew it was there, I tightened my grip on my gun and kept walking at the same pace, keeping a straight face. I heard it come up behind me, about to attack, and I kept my grip on my gun, forcing myself not to react. Just as it pushed off from the ground, I ducked and rolled to the side—A move Ikuto had taught me just the day before I'd left on this mission. The mutant landed heavily on the ground where I had been standing a few seconds ago, its long claws embedded in the damp dirt.

Before it had a chance to right itself, I shot at it with my gun, missing its heart by a few inches. I cursed under my breath and ducked behind a tree as it roared, ripping its claws out of the ground and raining dirt all over the area.

I glanced around the tree and grimaced. The mutant was uglier than most—It seemed to be half bear, half wolf, and half human. Or something like that. Its long snout was matted with dark blood and its fur was a dark, dirt-covered black. Its shoulders hunched over, big and wide, while its waist was skinny and small, and the outline of its ribs were visible through the thin flesh around its chest, showing off how malnourished it was.

It growled lowly, sniffing the air with its snout. I held my breath, hoping it could smell me, and glanced down at my gun. All out of bullets. "Shit," I muttered, scowling, and peeked around the tree again at the mutant.

It pricked it ears up, turning in my direction. I grimaced, realizing my mistake of talking, even if it was just a muttered curse. I could feel my fangs hanging over my bottom lip—Looks like I would have to go a little animal on this one.

The mutant made an angry sound in the back of its throat and bounded to the tree I was hiding behind. I thought it was going to go around it, but no—It ripped the tree up by the roots, throwing it down a few feet away. I only allowed myself to be stunned for a second before jumping up and out of the away of the mutant's sweeping claws as they raked through the dirt behind me.

I hesitated slightly before jumping up onto the mutant, digging my claws into its shoulders and hanging on for dear life. It roared, nearly causing me to go deaf, and tried to shake me off. A growl tore out of my throat and I felt my instincts kick in. I knew exactly what to do—I snarled at the mutant and tore at its throat with my sharp teeth, not noticing the blood that filled my mouth.

The good thing about this was that it didn't bug me that I was practically covered in blood—The bad thing was that I was barely in control of myself. I attacked with much more force than needed, continuously biting and ripping at its throat and other parts of its body with my fangs and claws as the mutant howled, at first angrily then painfully. The cries of pain landed on deaf ears. I didn't let go until its skin started to feel sticky and soft, at which point I pushed off from the mutant and landed on my feet a yard or two away from it.

The animal part of me hadn't let go yet—I wanted to keep attacking, I wanted to feel more flesh tearing under my claws. But I knew better than to do something like that while a mutant was melting. Not fun, no matter how bloodthirsty my animal side was feeling.

I turned my back on the bloody mutant, which was still whimpering in pain, and started walking. The animal in me was already fading, and I was starting to feel my insides churn with guilt, but I forced myself to stop. I had to tell myself not to care, or else I wouldn't be able to do this at all. Taking a deep breath, I calmed down and kept walking at a brisk pace.

As I walked, I surveyed the mess I had made. I hadn't been exactly clean this time. My arms were soaked in blood all the way up to my elbows, and I had dark red splatters all over my black shirt—a sight that would've made me puke a few weeks ago, but now only made me feel slightly sick to my stomach.

I sighed. I hated the days that I ran out of bullets—I always had to use my animal side, which was not exactly pleasant. It was always messy. I was getting better at it, at least. I could use it more often without getting completely out of control, and it usually went away pretty quickly after I was done fighting. But it was still pretty gross.

I got back to my small camp that I had set up. All it consisted of was a fire-pit and a small tent, which had a backpack with food and changes of clothes in it, and I usually passed out here whenever I was felt too tired to fight anymore. This place was practically infested with mutants, and Yoru had decided to send me here, for whatever reason. I had been here for a few days already, and I was planning on going back to the laboratory today.

I ducked into my tent and stripped off my blood-soaked clothes, tossing them outside, and pulled on a blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans from my backpack. I went to the river, which was a few yards away from my small campsite, and washed the blood off of my arms and face. When I was pretty sure I at least looked presentable, I folded up my tent and shoved it into my backpack, which was nearly empty by now. I dropped the bloodstained clothes into the river, not wanting to try and wash them out so I could wear them again, and shouldered my backpack before heading in the direction of the nearest city.

* * *

When I got there, I pulled out the last bit of money I had and tried to decide what to do with it. I could either go shopping, which was a rare thing to get to do, or I could pay for a train or bus to take me part of the way home. I really wanted to shop, and buy new things that I wouldn't be able to get from the small store at the Loft, but I was dead tired, way too tired to walk all the way home. Sighing, I headed to the train station and paid for a ticket on the train that would take me to the city nearest to the laboratory.

I stared out the window as the trees and houses passed by, watching my breath fog up the cold glass when I exhaled. I started to nod off every few seconds, and every time I shook my head and kept myself awake.

I listened to the conversations other people on the train were having, mostly the conversations of the elderly couple who was sitting across from me. They talked about normal things, like where they would go to eat dinner and that sort of stuff. I sighed wistfully, staring at the window as it fogged up.

After getting off the train, I walked through the city for a while, just looking around. When I passed through a park, I watched the little kids play on the playground out of the corner of my eye, half-wanting to do the same. I sat down on a bench at one point, feeling too tired to walk another inch, and I stretched out my arms, yawning.

Finally I stood up and started walking back to the laboratory. The edges of the city was covered in a forest, and about a mile or two into it was the laboratory. I walked through someone's yard into the forest behind it, breaking into a run once I was safely covered by the trees. By the time I finally made it to the lab I was panting, and feeling like my arms could break off any second.

There were big guards with guns standing in front of the main gate, looking scary and intimidating. They were mostly there to prevent people from leaving without permission, but they were also there to keep unwanted people out. They moved to the side when I walked up, barely glancing at me.

I walked into the laboratory building after going through the gates, keeping my eyes on the floor. Scientists walked all around me, talking with each other, probably giving me disgusted glances as I walked by them. I walked down the hall, into the same cafeteria room that I had passed through when I first came here, and out the double doors into the huge 'yard' in the back. I walked through the trees to my pack's den, having already memorized the way to get there.

I pushed open the door, trudging inside tiredly. Nagihiko, a kind 17-year-old who was new, was sitting on the floor watching TV. "Welcome back, Amu"

"Thanks, Nagi," I said, covering a yawn with my hand as I walked across the room to the stairs. I went into my room and dropped the backpack on the floor by my bed, shutting the door behind me, and collapsed onto the floor, too tired to climb into bed. I laid on my back, staring up at the ceiling with tired eyes, and started to fall asleep.

My door swung open and slammed against my feet, causing me to yelp and sit up, now wide awake. Ikuto was standing in my doorway—Of course. "What do you want, Ikuto?" I asked sleepily, scowling at him.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "Come on, you need to train."

I laughed humorlessly. "Are you kidding? I just got done with a mission that lasted three days! I think I deserve a break." I laid back down and turned so I wasn't facing him, closing my eyes.

"Be downstairs in ten minutes." He turned and left, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to fall asleep. But I wasn't tired anymore. Groaning frustratedly, I sat up and trudged out of my room and down the stairs. Ikuto was standing in the doorway waiting for me. He gestured for me to hurry up and I growled at him, following him out the door.

He started walking, and I followed, slightly confused. We usually trained just right outside of the house—We never went deep into the forest or anything. "Where are we going?"

"Well, actually I was thinking we should just take a break today," he said, walking next to me, his hands in his pockets.

"What..? You should've just let me sleep," I groaned, frowning.

He frowned, running a hand through his hair, which he always did when he was embarrassed. "Oh… Sorry… Fine, never mind. We'll go back."

"No… Ugh," I sighed. "No, we can go. I'm not really tired anymore anyway."

"Are you sure?" he asked skeptically and I nodded. He frowned, but he continued walking.

At first I'd thought he was taking me to the place with the hill again, but I soon realized he wasn't going in the same direction as that place. Confused, I asked him about it, but he just shrugged.

Finally Ikuto stopped walking. I looked up from the ground, which I had started examining out of boredom, and I blinked. We were in front of a big, clear lake. I could almost see the bottom, and the water looked clean and possibly even drinkable. There were a few small fish swimming in the deeper parts, most of them dull and gray but a few of them were colored red and orange and one was purple.

"There's a _lake _here?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I thought I'd show it to you, before it gets crowded in the summer. You don't know how to swim, right? I could teach you. If you want."

"Uh… Yeah…"

"What, you don't want to learn how?"

"No! No, I mean, yes, I do want to. Just… Wait, but aren't you a cat? Don't cats hate water?"

He growled in the back of his throat. "I'm _not _a cat. And yes, they do, but I don't mind it."

"Well… Okay. So, are we going to swim in our clothes?"

He shrugged. "Either that or we can do it without 'em. Your choice."

"Pervert!"

"You're the one who asked," he said in an annoyed voice, but he was smiling.

"Okay, but seriously, isn't it hard to swim with clothes?"

"Come on, Amu. I thought you were getting smarter. We're not swimming today, we'll get swimsuits or something later—I just wanted to show it to you." He rolled his eyes, like I was the one who was being dumb.

I sighed. Sometimes I wondered how he could be so childish. But at least it was better than him being serious all the time or something. "All right then. So, are we going back now?"

"Hmm… Actually, you know what, maybe we should train today." He stepped closer to me to we were only an inch or two apart. I felt my face heat up. Was he going to… Kiss me?

**A/N: I decided to write a more longer chapter than I normally do~ :D**


	15. Nightmares

_**~Chapter 15: Nightmares**_

I blinked, and he leaned forward with a mischievous smile on his face—Just before shoving me into the lake.

I screamed, splashing heavily into the water on my bag. I floundered in the water for a minute or two, trying to keep above the water, before I finally realized that it was only three feet deep. Ikuto was on the ground laughing. "I can't believe how stupid you are!" he said once he could breathe.

Growling, I stomped out of the water and made sure to shake as much of it off on him as I could. He stood up, glaring at me, but he couldn't keep a straight face and he broke out into laughter again. I turned around and looked at my reflection in the lake. My hair was now a soaked, knotted mess, and my ears and tail had appeared. My fangs were hanging slightly over my bottom lip and my eyes were glinting dangerously. With further inspection I realized there was a small fish tangled in my hair, and I squeaked before pulling it out and throwing it back into the water.

"Nice bra," he commented, smirking. I looked down—My soaked shirt had turned see-through. I quickly folded my arms over my chest, feeling my face heat up as I blushed.

"How the hell was that supposed to be considered 'training?'" I asked, glaring at him. Luckily, I wasn't very affected by cold water anymore, but it was still uncomfortable wearing soaking wet clothes.

"Of course it's training. If you had been a better fighter, you would've been able to realize that I was going to push you and you would've moved out of the way. How about we try it again?" He grinned when he saw the murderous expression on my face.

I thought about it for a second then smiled. "You know what? We should!" I grabbed his arms and yanked him forward, shoving him face first into the lake. The look on his face right before it was priceless—He was completely shocked. I smirked. "I guess you could use some training too."

He sat up in the water and growled at me. He looked ridiculous, with his hair soaking wet and hanging in his face, and his clothes specked with mud and algae. I couldn't help but laugh. Suddenly he lunged forward at my legs, tripping me, and I fell into the water next to him, splashing both of us with water and mud.

When I sat up, Ikuto was snickering at me. I glared at him, and he glared back for a few seconds before we both gave in and started laughing to the point where we couldn't breathe. We both looked completely ridiculous, much too funny to try and keep from laughing.

When our laughter had subsided, we stood up and walked out of the lake. "I'll race you back to the house," I challenged, and Ikuto grinned.

"Good luck with that. I'm way faster than you."

I smirked. "Sure. I'm the one with tiger DNA—You only have a wimpy little cat's."

He growled at me. "Yeah? Well, we'll just see about that, huh?"

He started running, leaving me behind. "Hey! Cheater!" My tone was angry, but I smiled to myself before breaking into a sprint behind him.

* * *

_I was in a forest. There were trees and plants, but no people. There was no light either—I was only able to see by the faint moonlight reflecting off the full moon above me. I didn't hear any noises, other than the sound of my breathing and my heart pounding in my chest._

_ As I walked through the trees aimlessly, I wondered where all the animals were. There weren't any owls, bats, snakes, nothing. I didn't even see any insects flying around. I called out into the night- "Hello? Is anyone there?" My voice came out scratchier and more raspy than normal, which was odd._

_ I heard a twig snap to my left and I turned to the noise, furrowing my brow. "Hello?" My voice was still scratchy and low. I heard a small, human-sounding squeaking noise from the same direction as the twig snap, and I walked forward. "Um... Is someone there? Hello?"_

_ I saw a human figure turn in the shadows. "Hey, wait!" They stumbled forward and started to run. I could hear their heavy breathing all the way from where I was standing. I hesitated before chasing after them._

_ I caught up to the person within seconds. I reached my arm out to catch them, but when I saw it I stumbled forward, accidentally knocking the person to the ground. It was dark, but I could still see well enough. My arm was covered in thick, orange fur, with long black running through it in some places, and it was covered up to a few inches above my elbow in a dark substance—Blood. My hands weren't hands, but furry paws, with long, yellow claws curving out of the top, also covered with blood._

_ I heard the person scream. The sound was high-pitched and loud, ringing in my ears like a siren. They covered their mouth with one hand and pointed at me with the other. I turned around, hoping maybe that they were pointing at something behind me, and saw a lake that hadn't been there before. I stepped forward in front of the water and looked at my reflection._

_ The sight that greeted me was horrifying—Some sort of beast's deformed face loomed in front of me, rippling with the water. Long, thick fangs curved out of its mouth, the tips ending just below its lower lip, and dark blood was splattered all around its mouth and the rest of its face. Its eyes, which were a dark red color, had slit pupils. There was fur covering the face, orange with black stripes, and the same went for the large ears that lay flat on top of its head. Long, tousled orange hair hung down just like a human girl's._

_ I had seen many faces similar to the one that rippled in the water in front of me, but this one was by far the most grotesque and wild-looking. I opened my mouth to scream, and the face did the same. Confused and getting slightly more scared by the second, I widened my eyes and watched as the face copied me. It took me another few seconds before I finally realized that the reflection in the water was of _me. _I stumbled backward, horrified, and screamed. The sound that came out of my lips was more of a wild screech, and I instantly closed my mouth to make the sound stop._

_ I turned around. The person was still there on the ground, trembling as they stared at me. They were in the shadows, so I couldn't see what they looked like, but as I stood there the full moon moved in the sky just enough so that light filtered down through the trees just above the person. As the light began to illuminate their face, I saw first their strawberry colored hair, then their strangely different-colored eyes—One gold and one dark blue. They looked familiar... But I shook my head, my messy hair falling into my eyes. It couldn't be...  
When I could finally see them clearly, I almost screamed again. It was me. It was me, but normal, without fur or ears or anything. I looked completely human—The only oddities were the small, sharp fangs that I could see in her—my—open mouth._

_ She stood up shakily, her eyes wide and terrified—Because of me_. _She stepped forward towards me, slowly reaching her trembling hand into her pocket. I wondered what she was getting, and I only realized when she had pulled it out and pointed it at me. She hesitated slightly before pulling the trigger of the silver gun, and it pierced me through my heart. At first, there was just an exploding pain that seemed to fade into a dull throb after a few seconds, then nothing. We both stood there. Her eyes grew wider than before and she gasped, dropping the gun. Confused, I wondered what she was shocked about. I realized that my limbs were starting to feel numb, and I felt a tingling sensation start to race through them. It was uncomfortable, but not painful._

_ That quickly changed. Within ten seconds the tingling had turned into burning. A white-hot, horrible pain spread through my entire body, and unconsciously I started to make that awful, screeching sound that meant I was screaming. I saw the girl, me, was terrified. She stumbled backward, her eyes filled with horror._

_ I looked down at myself and immediately wished I hadn't. I was _melting. _I felt like I was going to puke, and the burning sensation only got worse. I watched, paralyzed from sudden fear, as my skin started to actually melt off of my bones, along with my flesh. Blood started to gush up from underneath as my veins melted as well. I tore my eyes away and looked at myself standing in front of me, who met my gaze with scared eyes. I felt my eyes sting with tears at the horrible pain, and I tried to beg her to help me. It hurt so bad, I just couldn't stand it anymore._

_ But instead of trying to help me, she snatched up the gun from the ground with a terrified look. I tried to call out to her, but I couldn't talk anymore, I couldn't even move, I could only feel the horrible, intensifying pain. She pointed the gun at me, her expression filled with anguish, and once again pulled the trigger-_

I shot upward, breathing heavily, a scream caught in my throat. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was covered in sweat. I gasped and looked around the room. I was in my room, alone, and everything looked normal. After I was sure I was just in my room, I closed my eyes and leaned back against my pillow, still breathing hard.

After a few seconds, I opened my eyes, holding my arms out in front of me. They were normal, with no fur. _It was just a dream, _I thought to myself. _Just a nightmare._

When my heartbeat had slowed to a more regular pace and I was breathing normally, I sat up again, kicking my legs out of my tangled sheets. Nightmares had become a regular thing for me in the last few weeks, but they weren't often as vivid as this one. I tended to scream during my dreams as well—At first, I would wake up almost everyone in the house every time. By now, everyone had either gotten used to it, or just went back to sleep after they woke up. They said the nightmares went away after a while, and that they had had them too, but that theirs had stopped within a week or two. They had also said the same thing about my fangs, and neither had gone away yet, so it was pretty safe to assume they might never stop, unfortunately.

I stood up shakily, my knees buckling beneath me. I held onto the edge of my bed for support for a few seconds before letting go and walking to the door and out into the dark hallway.

I walked down the hall to Ikuto's room, and knocked quietly on the door. After about thirty seconds of waiting, the door opened, with Ikuto standing in the doorway. His hair was messy as always, and he looked tired.

When he saw me, he sighed and stepped outside into the hall, closing his door behind him. He walked slowly downstairs into the front room, sitting on the couch, and I sat next to him, leaning against the back of the couch. I still felt shaky from the nightmare, and I kept glancing at my hands to check if they had become furry or turned into paws. Closing my eyes, I tilted my head and rested it on Ikuto's shoulder, frowning.

It had become a normal thing as well for me to go to Ikuto for support when I had nightmares. We teased each other a lot, but he knew when it was time to shut up and be serious. I had gotten a lot stronger over the past few weeks, less wimpy and shy and more of a fighter, as well as more cold and detached. At least, to other people. But that act always seemed to fail whenever I was with Ikuto—Whether it meant acting immature and childish, or scared and weak.

"Do you want to tell me about this one?" he asked after a couple minutes.

I mumbled a no. I didn't want to try telling about the dream. It was already still vivid in my mind as it was—If I tried explaining, I would end up still remembering it when I woke up tomorrow. Not to mention, the dream had been sort of disturbing. I wasn't sure I wanted to tell Ikuto about something like that, no matter how close we were.

I found myself starting to fall back asleep on Ikuto's shoulder, and I felt guilt well up in my chest at making him do this. He never complained, even though I forced him to wake up almost every night and let me either talk to him or just sit with him for who-knows-how-long. He didn't tease me when I told him about my nightmares, and he never talked about it to anyone else, or brought it up again later unless I did first. He could act like a jerk sometimes, but at least I could trust him.

I sighed. Honestly, I just wanted to stay here forever. It was so quiet at night, and so peaceful too, especially with Ikuto. But that would be selfish. I opened my eyes tiredly and lifted my head. "Sorry. I'll let you go back to sleep."

"Are you sure? I don't really mind."

I nodded, even though I wasn't sure. I was still trembling, even though I was trying not to, and I hoped Ikuto couldn't tell.

"...Look, if you're still scared, I don't mind staying out here with you. I can... I can tell this one was pretty bad." He said it nonchalantly, like it didn't really matter, but his voice wavered once or twice. I frowned and wondered if maybe he had had a nightmare too.

"...Fine." I yawned and laid my head back down on his shoulder, leaning on his arm. His calm, steady breathing was rhythmic and very sleep inducing. He tilted his head to the side slightly and I wondered if he was falling asleep too. Probably. I closed my eyes again, and before I knew it I had fallen asleep.


	16. It's A Date

_**~Chapter 16: It's A Date**_

"Hey... Amu? Wake up. Ikuto?"

Distantly I heard someone calling me. I scowled, closing my eyes tighter. I didn't want to wake up, not yet. But I was already awake. Groaning, I sat up, sleepily half-opening my eyes.

The first thing I noticed was that I was not in my room. Suddenly very awake, I gasped and looked around with confusion before realizing that I was just downstairs, on the couch.

"Oh, you're awake now?" Miki was standing in front of me. I blinked and focused on her, looking up at her face.

"Yeah... Why am I down here?" I asked, yawning.

"I don't know... But why are you with Ikuto?"

"Why am I what?"

She pointed to my left. I turned my head and stared at Ikuto's sleeping form next to me, my brow furrowed. He was lying with his head resting on the arm rest, his arm draped over the side of it, and I had been lying against his other arm. When I finally remembered why, I frowned. "Oh. We were sitting here last night, and then we fell asleep."

Miki opened her mouth to say something, but she shook her head. "Okay, whatever. I don't want to know."

"Huh...?" I realized that from her point of view, this might've looked sort of weird. My eyes widened slightly, but I managed to keep my cool demeanor. "No, it's not like that. We were just talking."

"Mm hmm. Well, it's pretty early. Do you want me to make you some food? I only woke you up because..." She gestured at Ikuto.

"Sure, thanks."

She smiled at me before heading into the kitchen. I yawned again and stood up, shaking Ikuto's shoulder. "Wake up."

He mumbled in his sleep and pressed his face against the couch. Rolling my eyes, I took his arm and pulled him off the couch and onto the floor.

He growled and sat up. "What was that for?"

"You wouldn't wake up." I suppressed a smile.

"Whatever," he said grouchily, laying his head back on the floor and closing his eyes.

I looked at him incredulously. "Seriously?"

He lifted his head back up to glare at me. "I'm a cat. Cats need sleep."

I raised an eyebrow. The only time he ever seemed to agree that he was a cat was when he wanted to sleep—Any other time and he would deny it furiously. "But, I'm a tiger, and tigers are cats too. How come I'm fine?"

"All right, fine," he grumbled, pushing himself off the floor. "Why do I need to wake up anyway?"

"Because I'm bored."

He gave me a glare as he stood up. I walked into the kitchen and Ikuto slowly trailed after me.

Miki glanced up when we walked in, then looked back down at the stove, where she was making pancakes, I think. "Good morning," she said cheerfully, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Good morning," I replied. Ikuto kept quiet, probably still sulking. He was such a baby.

As she flipped the pancakes expertly and put the done ones on a plate, she said, "So, Amu, you're going to the party tonight, right?"

"The what?"

"The party. Wait, I didn't tell you?"

"Um…" I thought back. I didn't really hear everything she said sometimes—While she felt like an older sister or something similar, she liked to talk about clothes and makeup a lot, two things that I wasn't very interested in. I preferred to hang out with Utau or Rima, as neither of them cared about their appearance much either. "I don't remember."

"Really? Well, there's a party tonight. That's what we mainly use the Loft for, parties. Right, Ikuto?" She said this innocently, but there was something about the way she said the last sentence, and she was smiling.

Ikuto growled. "Shut up."

"What did you just say?"

I turned around. Yoru was standing in the doorway, his eyebrow arched. I didn't talk to Yoru very much, but I knew that he was smart, and very mature.

Ikuto glanced over his shoulder, scowling when he saw Yoru. "Nothing," he muttered.

Yoru walked over to stand behind Miki, hugging her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "That's what I thought."

Miki frowned, turning her head to look at Yoru. "Yoru, don't be mean," she chided him.

He kissed her on the lips and said apologetically, "Sorry, kitten." She smiled at him, and they smiled together. Awkwardly I looked away, embarrassed to be watching their exchange.

Miki finished making the pancakes and she put a plateful of them in the middle of the table. "Here you go."

I grabbed a plate from the cupboard and sat down, piling pancakes onto my plate. Ikuto sat in a chair a few seats away from me and did the same. I ate like I hadn't eaten in weeks, finishing my entire plateful in just a few minutes. I guess it would've been sort of embarrassing, if everyone else didn't eat like that too. At least I wasn't messy.

Kukai sauntered into the kitchen, his eyes lighting up when he saw the food. "Pancakes!" He got a plate and sat next to me. "So, what're you guys talkin' about?"

"Mmm… Oh yeah, the party tonight." Miki glanced at Ikuto, a smile on her face, and I did too. His face had visibly darkened. "That's right. I'll have to help Amu pick out something to wear, and do her hair and makeup. Oh, and she'll need a date!"

"A w-what?" I stuttered, glancing sharply at Miki.

She laughed. "I'm just kidding, don't worry about it so much. Why, did you already have someone in mind?"

Crap. My 'cool' act was falling fast. I thought I had perfected it, but apparently not, especially when Miki sprung these weird questions on me like she tended to do occasionally. I took a breath, trying to calm myself again, but I was pretty sure I was already blushing. "…No, I don't."

Miki smiled and said, "All right, if that's how you want to be. But we do still need to do something about those clothes. I'll help you a little later—The party doesn't start until this evening. Well, I'll see you later," she said as she walked out of the kitchen, hand in hand with Yoru. I heard the front door open and close.

"Hey, Amu, wanna be my date?" Kukai asked, grinning at me.

I rolled my eyes. "No thanks."

He nudged my arm. "C'mon, sure you do. It's not like there's anyone else you could go with."

"I never even said I was going… What's the point of having a party, anyway?"

He shrugged. "It's not like everyone knows everyone here. It's mostly just so we can have a chance to talk to people from other packs. The scientists don't arrange them, we do, for fun I guess."

"…Oh." I still didn't really understand the purpose of them.

I looked over at Ikuto, who had been silent throughout the whole conversation. He looked miserable. I elbowed Kukai lightly and whispered, "What's his problem?"

"Ikuto? Oh, he just doesn't like parties."

"Why not…?"

Ikuto growled. "I can hear you guys."

"Oh. Well, then what is your deal? Why're you acting all depressed?"

He frowned and shrugged. I was about to ask him more about it when I heard a knock at the door. "Who's that?" I asked instead.

A knowing smile appeared on Kukai's face and he looked at Ikuto. "Hey, I think it's for you."

Ikuto growled menacingly and Kukai laughed, lifting up his hands. "All right, all right! I'll go answer it for you." He pushed up from the table, giving his uneaten pancakes a longing look, then went to answer the door.

Curious, I turned to Ikuto. "What was that all about? Who's at the door?"

He scowled. "Just listen."

I heard Kukai answering the door and I kept quiet, listening for the voice that would answer. The voice I heard reply was high-pitched and annoying, and practically made my ears bleed. I growled instinctively and realized that I recognized the voice.

"It's _her_?" I asked Ikuto in a low voice. He nodded miserably. I heard her say Ikuto's name, and the way she said it made me want to hurt someone. I remembered the time I had first seen her—She had been just as annoying then as she was now. I had only seen her twice since then, and neither time had she bothered to introduce herself to me. Not that I would want to hear more of her high-pitched squealing whines, though.

I heard Kukai saying something to her, but I couldn't make out what. He called Ikuto's name, and Ikuto scowled before sighing in exasperation and standing up to go to the door. "…Can you come with?" he asked me, almost pleadingly. Wow—He must have felt pretty strongly about this.

I nodded and followed him to the front door. He trudged forward slowly, and I couldn't help but almost want to laugh. Even if that girl was really annoying, he was overreacting. What did she want, anyway?

When she saw Ikuto, she made a happy little squealing noise that made my blood boil. Okay, I guess I was exaggerating a little, but not much. Everything about her was annoying, though—Her curly brown hair that she obviously tried too hard to make look good, her excessive makeup, her constantly batting eyelashes. She dressed skimpily as well and it all pissed me off to no end.

Ikuto gave her a fake smile that was dripping with contempt, but she smiled back at him anyway. Throwing her arms around his waist, she squealed, "Ikuto! I've missed you _so _much! Why don't you ever talk to me anymore?" He shrugged halfheartedly. I stood there, watching as she completely ignored me. Not that it mattered.

"Well, it doesn't matter. We're together now!" She twisted her hair around her fingers, talking with excessive enthusiasm. "So… There's a party tonight, did you know?"

I glanced at Kukai, who had stood back away from the door to give the girl and Ikuto some room, I guess. He was suppressing a smile as he watched, leaning against the back of the couch.

"Yeah, I know."

"Well… I was wondering… Do you want to go with me?"

Ikuto grimaced and looked away. "Uh, I can't."

"What, why not?" she whined, pouting. "Yeah you can, it's not like you have anything better to do," she complained.

I scowled at her, even though she wasn't looking. Ikuto looked like he was on the verge of hitting her too, and Kukai was trying his best not to laugh. Ikuto glanced at me, his eyes suddenly widening like he had an idea. "Actually, I can't, because I've… I've already got a date."

"_What?_" she choked out, shocked. "B-but… Who?"

Ikuto suddenly put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. "Her."

I squeaked and felt my face heat up as I blushed. "W-what?" the girl and I said incredulously at the same time.

I was about to push Ikuto away when he elbowed me. "Yeah, I'm going with her. Sorry, I can't go with you, Saaya."

Saaya's face flushed bright red. She shot daggers at me with her gaze. "Oh. All right then. You," she gestured at me, "can I talk to you for a second?"

I flinched at the tone of her voice. It was even more annoying when she was mad. "Um…" I looked at Ikuto, who was giving me a begging look, and I shrugged. "I guess."

She stepped back out the door and I followed her, glancing over my shoulder at Ikuto and Kukai. Kukai gave me a thumbs up with a teasing grin and Ikuto just grimaced.

"What do you want…?" I asked when she had stopped walking.

When she turned to face me, she barely gave me a withering glance. "Look, I know what you're trying to do. Well don't bother—Ikuto is _mine._" Her eyes flashed violently and I suddenly wondered if she was dangerous.

With a sick feeling in my stomach, I decided to play along. "Oh, yeah? I think he just became mine."


	17. Dreadful Dancers

_**~Chapter 17: Dreadful Dancers**_

I flinched at how pathetic that sounded, but it seemed to make her angry. Her face flushed again and she gave me a disgusted glare before turning around and stomping away.

I rolled my eyes and turned to walk back into the house. When I walked inside, Kukai burst into laughter at the expression on my face. "So, what did she want?" he asked enthusiastically, grinning.

I walked passed him to stand in front of Ikuto, my hand on my hip. "What was _that _about_?_"

He looked at me apologetically. "Sorry…"

I let out an exasperated sigh. "That girl is going to _kill _me!"

Kukai nodded. "She actually might. Well, at least you guys both have a date now! I guess I'll have to find someone else…"

"Huh?" I frowned. "Wait, what? I actually have to go with him?"

"'Course you do. Do you think she'd be okay with it if Ikuto didn't even show up at the party? She'd come over here and drag him there herself."

Ikuto sighed. "It doesn't really matter. Let's just go, as friends."

"But…" I scowled. "Fine. I don't care, I guess… Maybe it'll be fun…" But I seriously doubted it.

* * *

"This is stupid," I complained, tugging at my sleeves. I had been able to avoid wearing a dress, but Miki had forced me to wear something 'fancy.' She'd made me wear a lacy white, long-sleeved shirt and jewelry, as well as makeup.

"Not my fault," Ikuto said with a frown. He was wearing regular jeans and a slightly more nice-looking shirt than normal, his hair its usual uncombed mess. It was so unfair—Miki wasn't able to force Ikuto to dress up, just me.

It felt weird wearing fancy clothes in the middle of a forest. By now, I was an expert at navigating trees and mud, so I didn't ruin Miki's clothes, but I could still feel the biting wind through the thin sleeves. The earrings felt heavy in my ears and I desperately wanted to take them out, trying hard not to tug on them. Ikuto was walking loosely at my side, his hands in his pockets as usual, looking bored.

As we neared the Loft, I started to hear faint music playing. It wasn't familiar. I glanced at Ikuto, who was still bored, and asked, "So... Tell me again why they're throwing a party?"

Ikuto sighed. "Look, we don't get to do much here, especially all of the packs together. It just doesn't happen—There are too many of us. So of course we'll want to get together once in a while."

I frowned. "Well... I guess that makes sense. Hey... How come all the buildings are so far apart? It gets annoying sometimes."

He shrugged. "How should I know? I didn't build this place."  
I stuck my tongue out at him. "Well sorry for asking."

"You should be."

When we walked into the Loft, I was surprised at how many people there were. I estimated there were probably at least a hundred people or so. Almost everyone was around 15 or older, even though I had seen younger people here before. It was pretty crowded, but the building was big enough to fit everyone, for the most part.

People were dancing to the music, standing around and talking, or eating food at any of the several tables set up around the edges of the room. Some of them were also in the other, smaller rooms, and I could see several upstairs.

I could smell the faint scent of alcohol and I wrinkled my nose slightly. "You guys drink alcohol?"

He shrugged. "What do you expect? Some of the people here are in their twenties. And the others are, well, teenagers."

"Wait... Do you...?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I've tasted it, but it's not really my thing."

I was about to say more when I saw that girl, Saaya, walking towards us, an enormously fake smile plastered to her makeup-covered face. Just seeing her made my blood boil. I growled lowly and Ikuto looked over, noticing my growl, and scowled when he saw her.

"What should we do?" I asked quickly in a low voice. "Hold hands, or something? To make her go away?"

"I think she wants to dance," he said, frowning. Suddenly he grabbed my hand, putting his other hand on my back, and I reluctantly put my other hand on his shoulder. He started to slow dance clumsily, the way someone inexperienced and rushed would. I didn't know how to dance either, though, so I didn't really have a right to judge.

I glanced over briefly and smirked at the scowl that had replaced her smile. Fortunately, she turned away and walked in the other direction. Once I was sure she was gone, I dropped my hands, frowning. "You suck at dancing."

"You're a lot worse at it than me," he said, snorting. "Crap, she's coming back—Keep dancing." He put his hand back on my waist and took my hand again, and I rolled my eyes, continuing to dance. We were both terrible, and I tried not to step on his toes too many times.

We continued to do this for a long time, Saaya always hovering a few yards away, waiting for a chance to ask Ikuto to dance. We didn't give her one. After a while, we started to get used to dancing, and it became less awkward and more fun. We switched dancing styles several times as the music changed and as we got tired, and we just talked about random things as we danced.

Finally, I glanced over my shoulder and, surprised not to see Saaya there, looked all around us. I didn't see her anywhere. Excitedly I told Ikuto that she was gone and he looked around too. We both let out sighs of relief and let go of each other, both of us tired out by now. "I'm tired," I complained.

"Should we leave?" Ikuto asked, his eyes flitting to the door.

I was tempted to say yes, but I decided I wasn't quite ready to leave yet. "Nah, let's stay here for a while. Is there anything to drink here?"

Ikuto nodded and took my hand, leading me through the crowd of dancers to the edges of the room. He stopped in front of a table and let go. "Here."

"Thanks," I said, looking at the table. There were cups and a bowl of something, I guess juice, as well as other snacks.

"Just a minute," Ikuto said, turning around and heading in the opposite direction. I wondered where he was going—Probably the bathroom or something. Sighing, I turned to the table and poured myself a cup of the juice, walking to stand by the table and leaning against the wall as I sipped my drink. It had a strange taste, but then again I didn't often drink anything other than water.

"Hello." I looked up from the rim of my drink to see a tall man standing in front of me, smiling at me. He had dark blonde hair and violet eyes, and he looked like he was probably in his early twenties.

"Um, hi," I said, instinctively glancing over the mans shoulder in the direction Ikuto had disappeared to. He was nowhere in sight. I turned my gaze back to the man.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked me, offering his hand.

I hesitated—It wasn't like I knew him, and he looked a lot older than me. But I shook my head and told myself to stop being stupid. I set my cup down on the table. "Sure," I replied, giving him my hand and letting him lead me back out to the dance floor.

* * *

**I'm sorry if you thought this chapter was terrible. I promise the next chapter will be much, much better! :D**


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